Santi Cazorla Bemoans Arsenal Injury 'Plague' and Calls for Silly Mistakes to be Stamped Out

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has urged his teammates to eradicate the mistakes that are halting their progress this season.

The Gunners have surrendered a lead in each of their last two games to throw away victories, letting a 3-0 lead slip away against Anderlecht in the Champions League before Swansea City came from behind to beat them 2-1 in the Premier League.

Arsene Wenger's side have also dropped points from a winning position against Leicester City and Manchester City in the league over the course of the season, while they needed a last minute equaliser to claim a draw against Hull City following more suspect defending in October.

"We are not in a good moment," Cazorla told El Confidencial. "These are mistakes we cannot commit if we want to fight for important things.

"It has happened to us several times already and we just can't keep doing that."

Arsenal's attempts to contend with the Premier League's pace-setters have also been undermined by relentless injuries to members of the first team squad.

Although Theo Walcott and Serge Gnabry have recently returned from lengthy lay-offs with Olivier Giroud and Mathieu Debuchy also making rapid progress in their recoveries, Cazorla admits the string of problems during the first four months of the season caused the side to lose their rhythm.

"It is something that surprises me. There are always mishaps, like Walcott, for example, or you twist an ankle. But the constancy of tears, to see people outside the team a long time, that makes us much weaker.

"We don't have all our players in the best possible condition and ultimately it makes the team more vulnerable. We hope that we can change this plague of injuries."

After 11 games, Arsenal already sit 12 points behind league leaders Chelsea, who the Spaniard sees as the stand-out favourites for the Premier League title.

"In the league, Chelsea is now the most reliable, most consistent team. The strongest team. It is true that today they are the favourites to win the league."