Olivier Giroud believes the two best passers in the history of football both played for Arsenal.
The Gunners have had a plethora of extremely technically gifted players at their disposal over the years, many of whom were exceptional at delivering inch-perfect balls.
The likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Mesut Ozil could thread a pass through the eye of a needle, while the likes of Emmanuel Petit and Granit Xhaka were metronomic masters in possession.
However, Giroud believes two other stars who wore the red and white shirt were simply at a different level when it came to passing a football.
Olivier Giroud says Cesc Fabregas and Santi Cazorla are the best passers in football history
Giroud has played alongside some outstanding passers.
The French striker has operated in the same team as the likes of Paul Pogba, Jorginho and Aurelien Tchouameni.
However, when asked to pick the best passer in the history of football, not just his teammates, he didn’t hesitate before citing former Arsenal midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Santi Cazorla.
“The best passer? I hesitate between Cesc Fabregas and Santi Cazorla. [Both are a] joke. The two of them,” Giroud told L’Equipe on TikTok.
Fabregas is now a manager at Como, where the intelligence from his playing days is being translated to his coaching work.
The Spaniard spent eight years at Arsenal between 2003 and 2011, making over 300 appearances for the Gunners. Boasting supreme technical quality, he was indeed able to dictate football matches with his immaculate passing.
Meanwhile, Cazorla has regularly been lauded by former teammates for being something of a magician. Possessing exceptional close control and quick feet, the former Villarreal star could pick a teammate out when he had no right to.
Mesut Ozil was arguably a better passer than both Santi Cazorla and Cesc Fabregas
While Cazorla and Fabregas were exquisite passers of the ball, Ozil was perhaps on another level.
The aforementioned Spaniards were better passers from deep areas, better at breaking the lines and switching play.
However, Ozil provided more valuable passes more frequently. Few in football history have been better at finding an intricate ball that could split an opposition defence and create a high-quality chance than the German.
The ex-Real Madrid man’s catalogue of through-balls and eye-of-the-needle passes is simply sublime. With little back lift, little time to manoeuvre and little space to execute, he’d always manage to pull off the perfect pass.
While Cazorla and Fabregas may have had more clubs in their armoury, Ozil was more capable of playing the match-winning pass more frequently.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
