SANTI CAZORLA WILL bring the curtain down on his injury-ravaged Arsenal career when the Spanish midfielder leaves at the end of his contract in June.
Cazorla hasn’t played for Arsenal since suffering a serious Achilles injury in October 2016.
In a bid to return to action, he had 10 separate operations and a skin graft after he lost eight centimetres of tendon in his right ankle.
The 33-year-old, who was signed from Malaga in 2012, made 180 appearances in six years with Arsenal, scoring 29 goals in all competitions.
Cazorla was widely regarded as one of the most technically gifted players in the Premier League when he was at his peak.
He helped Arsenal lift two FA Cups, scoring a sublime free-kick in the 2014 final against Hull to spark Arsenal’s comeback from two goals down to win 3-2 at Wembley.
Arsenal’s chief executive Ivan Gazidis said: “Santi is always one of my favourite players to watch.
“His natural ability with both feet, his speed of thought and movement were central to our best performances in recent years.
⚠️ This is a pretty emotional watch...@19SCazorla has a message for you all#GraciasSanti pic.twitter.com/rRmDSp3Rem
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) May 21, 2018
“He plays with a joy and freedom which is very rare. We wish him well for the future and thank him for his important contribution to our club.”
Cazorla, who has won 77 caps for Spain, is reported to have been offered the chance to rejoin his former club Villarreal for pre-season training next term.
He played for La Liga side Villarreal in two separate spells between 2003 and 2011.
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6 goals from midfield in a relegated team is impressive. He needs to get back to Celtic and push for a starting place, tough competition there.
Good experience for him with the international set up though.
@Bert Carolan: we all know the track record on Irish players in Celtic think he’s far better to get out of there. As a player he seems to tick a lot of boxes as a solid midfielder so with a bit of luck he can make the step up at international level, attract a bit of interest and secure a transfer to a bigger club like Ogbene did.
@Aprior: The track record for Irish players might not be great at Celtic but a lot of Irish players go there, obviously there is going to be a lot of failures. You’re going to have a few Johnny Kenny’s for every Liam scales.
Utd and Pool combined have only Kelleher come through in last 10 years. Probably some Irish lads go to Celtic when they should go to a lower profile club.
@Aprior: He’ll surely get his chance preseason, best of luck to him anyway.
@Aprior: I disagree with this comment. Look at the season just had by Liam Scales and Adam Idah. I also hope Celtic fork out the required amount and sign Idah permanently or else he can return to Norwich reserves and you can continue your narrative about the Irish at Celtic. Nobody has the divine right to a jersey, that has to be earned. It also must be remembered that prior to this Lawal was seen as a defender, an average one it was a recent conversion at Fleetwood to his original position of CDM has brought the best out of him. A position both Celtic and Ireland need depth in.
Hopefully he gets a run out tomorrow night. A future star can play as a defender or a midfielder very comfortable on the ball. Best of luck Bosun.
Got to expect Jake O Brien to get a game or 2 he’s out in form Centre back we have