Santi Cazorla says he has fulfilled one of his dreams, after captaining Spain for the second half in their 4-1 over the Faroe Islands.

After a three-and-a-half-year absence from the Spanish national team squad, Cazorla received a surprise call-up to the team this month. It was a fair reward for the 34-year-old’s strong season in La Liga, finally recovering from his injury problems with Arsenal.

It was no token gesture for the midfielder though, as he got a start in Spain’s European Championship qualifier against the Faroe Islands on Friday.

With the team 3-1 up at half time, Sergio Ramos came off and allowed Cazorla to take the captain’s armband for the remainder of the match. The former Gunner admitted afterwards that he was honoured to have that opportunity.

“Wearing the armband is another dream fulfilled for me,” Cazorla said (via Marca). “I’m enjoying this a lot, but the important thing is for me to help the team.

“We knew it’d be difficult because of the pitch and that they were going to close us. But we were better in many aspects of the game and we’re happy.”

Cazorla was one of Spain’s best performers in the match, so he has every right to take pleasure in their victory. He completed 96% of his passes, creating three chances and finding his target with 14 of his 15 attempted long balls.

The Spaniard ran the show in the middle and helped get his country the three points. Job done.