Santi Cazorla’s Villarreal contract expires at the end of the season and the midfielder has previously talked about returning to Arsenal, something Mikel Arteta would like to happen, so will it?
Santi Cazorla’s career since he left Arsenal has soared despite the fact he nearly lost a foot and was lucky to be able to walk again, never mind play so well he earned a recall to the Spanish national side for the first time in four years.
It’s not clear yet if Cazorla will get a new deal in Spain or if he will consider retiring. Given he just turned 35 last month and missed so long through injury, I think he will try and squeeze every drop he can out of his playing days. To that end, he has admitted to thinking about playing in the MLS.
That being said, he has also previously talked about returning to Arsenal when he finally hangs up his magic pixie boots.
“When you are at a big club like Arsenal, sometimes you don’t realise what it means to be there until you are gone,” Cazorla said in November. “I never got to say a proper goodbye. It was the biggest team I played for in my career and I miss everything about Arsenal.
“I don’t know what my legacy is there, you would have to ask the fans, but I want to say thank you to them all. I would like to play at the Emirates one last time before I retire.
“I don’t know what I will do afterwards – maybe a coach, maybe a sporting director – but I would love to go back to Arsenal. I lived in London for six years. My son loved it there. In the future, we will see if I have the possibility.”
When Arteta was first linked with the Arsenal job last summer it was said he wanted to bring both Cazorla and Thierry Henry with him as part of his backroom staff.
Henry is now managing in the MLS, so that rules him out, but Cazorla could be a very real option and that prospect has to excite every single Gooner on the planet.
Santi Cazorla: I’d love to return to Arsenal after my playing career