..BUT CAZORLA IS READY FOR SPAIN RETURN
ARSENAL’S injury-hit midfielder Santi Cazorla is having talks with Villarreal about making a return to his former club.
The 33-year-old star has not played for the Gunners first team since October 2016 because of an Achilles problem. The injury was so bad that he needed a skin graft from his arm to repair the damaged area.
But Villarreal are now interested in signing him and taking the player for pre-season training in July. It was reported on Spanish TV that “it is all but official” Cazorla will return to the club where he started and made his debut 15 years ago.
TV reporter Monica Marchante told viewers: “It is all-but-official that, although it has not all been completely confirmed by the club, Santi Cazorla will spend pre-season with Villarreal.”
Cazorla had stepped up his training in recent weeks and harboured dreams of playing before the end of the season.
But his contract expires this summer and it is unlikely he will stay at Arsenal to be a squad player.
The Spaniard will go down as one of the club’s best players of recent times, and his injury has been a huge factor in their drop in fortunes.
It has been reported that Mikel Arteta wanted him as part of his Arsenal coaching set-up, but Cazorla has maintained that his priority has been to carry on playing.