All Arsenal fans were hoping to see Santi Cazorla play one more time for the Gunners at the end of Arsene Wenger’s reign at the Emirates, but despite having nearly recovered from his horrific two-year injury, fans were not granted their wish to say a proper goodbye to our little Spanish maestro.
But he still insisted he wanted to carry on playing and he has had a successful couple of seasons back at Villarreal in La Liga, playing 75 games and scoring 19 goals, and even earning a recall to the Spain national side, despite reaching the grand old age of 35.
Now his contract is up at Villarreal, and he is planning his next move, and keeping in mind that just a couple of weeks ago, Santi said: ‘I don’t know what my legacy is [at Arsenal],’ Cazorla told Vamos as quoted by the Metro.
‘You have to ask the fans, but I want to thank everyone.
‘I don’t know what I will do next, maybe a coach, maybe a sports director, but I would like to come back.’
So, could he be coming back alongside Arteta, his old mate and compatriot? Well, Arsenal fans certainly think it is possible after seeing this enigmatic tweet from the club’s official account…..
Santi. That's it. That's the tweet. pic.twitter.com/5u0unJxpfh
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 21, 2020
So what do you make of this? Could he be coming back or are Arsenal just teasing the fans?
Oh Santi Cazorla!! Be great news if he comes back as a coach was a fantastic player and probably could still do a job playing in current team anyway hope it’s true. WELCOME HOME SANTI CAZORLA!!
I wish they wouldn’t do this 😄 On top of seeing this, I’ve also read we expect to sign Partey at the next available opportunity and that we’re ‘heavy favourites for his signature’….. and all this will he won’t he talk with Auba, I don’t think my ticket can take much more haha!
Seriously, I’d take Cazorla back in a heartbeat, whether as a player or a coach, so AFC, get on it!
*ticker
I did wonder!!
🤪😂
I want us to have a good player this season
Iconic player, very good fellow, would take him anytime. Even a 45 year old Santi (ten years from now) would contribute more than a 30 year old Ozil (today) on the pitch. Come back Santi! If that Lichsteiner could play a few games here and there with all flaws and faults, then why not Santi on a free return?
In the words of a famous cookery expert “LET’S BE HAVING YOU SANTI LET’S BE HAVING YOU”….. w
KEN did Fanny Craddock really say that!
Thought I’d confuse the youngsters who wont have heard of her but who know Delia, though come to think of it, many were not even born when she drunkenly shouted that!
To be serious(or nearly) for a moment, I am now on hookertents( as Dr Spooner might well call them) as to whether the great Santi will come to us in ANY capacity. I’d even have him as a steward if it meant we could have his sunshine and smile around our club. But a player /coach would be a better choice, don’t you think! Fingers crossed then!
Wouldn’t it be just great to see him back at Arsenal with all his experience to impart? I’m hoping there’s no smoke without fire
£10m for Mustafi, is it realistic to dream of such a wonder? And something in the same direction for Xhaka… £5m then? Four? Three? Oh, come on, give us a break, give us two millions for the meat. Have a heart…
And two bits! Look it up, Robert. Try Oklahoma, the musical !
He would still boss our midfield. Ozil isn’t even fit to lick his boots! Santi a proper playmaker!
If Edu, Mikel and Freddie laced up their boots and took to the pitch on match day, would still be better and more effective than Xhaka, Ozil, Guendozi / Callebas. All three are on our rolls at the moment and I am not talking about a legends / veterans match, I am talking of the EPL. So bad is our quality, and these were signed in the Wenger & Raul eras.
You didn’t mention that Wenger signed Santi though did you? Just the signings that you think make Wenger look bad ..
Dan kit, these two “fans” are like people caught in a time warp that they can’t leave.
Neither did they mention Rosicky, but as you say anything to keep the Wenger bashing drum going!!!
I wonder when they will give up clinging to the past and move forward with Mikel, what is it, three and a half years since gazidis took over the buying, selling and contract negotiations with his three musketeers?
Even the thought of cheeky Santi coming home (as you say bought to our club by AW of course) is met with a negative and depressing reaction.
The really interesting thing though Dan, is Cazorla comments on AW and I quote “If Arsene had stayed, maybe I would have stayed at Arsenal for one more year.”
Santi asked AW if he could train at The Emirates on the day of our semi final with AM and the reply he got was “You can Play!!” What a class reaction.
Furthermore, he also said how Wenger “always supported me” and mentioned the way he was given a new contract despite his terrible injury, ensuring he could focus fully on his new contract.
This, of course, will be seen as another sign of Wenger keeping faith with players who are injured – for me, it’s why I love this club so much…doing it The Arsenal way.
UE sent him packing and he had two further years playing in La Liga, but still remains a Gooner – thanks Arsene for signing such a wonderful player and letting him know what he meant to our club. Can’t wait for him and Arsene to return to our club once again.
Yes Wenger’s approach of players before club did wonders for Arsenal! What was it again…14 years straight of not winning or even challenging for a league title, and 9 years straight winning absolutely nothing! And how many players collecting a handsome wage packet off the club, despite Wenger knowing full well they were barely fit enough to kick a ball!
Clearly Wenger’s critics haven’t a clue what they’re talking about!
Ding ding round 268 😂😂
Like the statements you made – that chelsea lost the cup final to us because they had been out partying the night before – that Lichtsteiner was a good buy because he came for free and ignoring the fact that he cost the club over £4,000,000 in wages, It does make your statement about “not having a clue” seem rather prophetic!!!
This article is about SANTI CAZORLA, the player AW bought and turned into a world class player – you carry on dreaming about what you consider the bad old days, it obviously keeps you going.
Hopefully, MIKEL ARTETA, PER MERTESACKER and FREDDIE LJUNGBERG, all of whom AW also brought to the club by the way, will give you a reason to become positive at some time in the future…one can only hope.
OT..just received notification regarding the remaining fixtures of this season and what that means regarding s/t payback etc.
I have just counted that there are TWENTY THREE different seating areas / levels of season ticket prices within The Emirates.
How on earth the media can claim we have the most expensive seats in Europe is beyond me, especially as mine cost me £390 for 19 premier league games and the first seven cup matches (excluding the league cup).
That works out, for me, a figure of £15 per game!!!!
£15 per game!! Can’t be bad, Ken!! 👍
As always Ken1945 you trip yourself up with your own statements.
Is it not you that ALWAYS says that wages do not matter? Yet now with your Lichsteiner example, you have used his wages as a reason to try and vex me with my own words.
Yet every time I bring up Ozil’s wages (along with his transfer fee, will cost the club around 150 million), that’s not even an issue you have said, time and time again.
So what’s worse then, Arsenal wasting 4 million or 150 million?
“This article is about SANTI CAZORLA, the player AW bought and turned into a world class player”…that statement is hilarious! You make out that Santi was some obscure teen that Wenger found , and molded into a world class player. Santi was 27 when he joined us. He had over 30 caps for Spain (who were unbelievably good at that time), a seasoned pro, and already a world class talent when he signed.
Just because Wenger signed our now coaches as players, you’re trying to give Wenger credit for their coaching ability? First of all, Ljungberg, and especially Arteta, haven’t been at Arsenal coaching for long enough to make a fair judgement. Per I think we can, and he seems to be doing a decent job.
If anyone has influenced Arteta’s coaching from what we’ve seen on the pitch, one could make a case for David Moyes more than anyone. Arteta’s Arsenal have more of a pragmatic approach, and that is definitely not Pep and Wenger’s style. From what Mikel has said, Wenger and Pep have had a big influence on him for sure, but it’s more Moye’s style that we’re seeing on the pitch so far.
TMJW, first of all, I ask you to find any single post or article where I have said Ozil’s contract was anything other than obscene and grotesque – come to that, find me any post where I have said wages don’t matter.
What I HAVE said is that performances on the pitch should NOT be judged by what a player earns and therein lies the difference between you and me it seems.
It was you who, once again, I should add, brought Ozil’s name to the debate…just can’t help yourself!!
Cazorla’s senior INTERNATIONAL CAREER before joining our club:
Starting from 2008, as an uncapped senior player, he played in 18 matches for Spain and therefore received 18 caps in four years before joining The Arsenal…an average of 4.5
From 2012 until he left us in 2018, taking out two full seasons through injury, he played in 30 games in five seasons…an average of 6.0.
After AW showed faith him in, by awarding him the new contract, UE made the decision to let him go for free – since then he has gained a further 4 international caps and played 24 games, scored 8 goals and made 6 assists in the 19/20 season in Spain – imagine if UE had had the faith that AW had in this fantastic player, he would have been playing for us still, although he did say it was AW that he wanted to play under of course.
His CLUB CAREER spanning 352 games for Villarreal, Recreativo de Huelva, Malaga and a Villarreal return, saw him with the following honours:
Spanish Player of the Year in 2006/7 season
During these four years, he was out injured for 84 days.
The honours he won under AW over 129 games for The Arsenal are as follows:
Player of the season 2012/13
FA Cup Winners medal 2013/2014
FA Cup Winners medal 2014/2015
and Man of the Match Award.
FA Community Shield 2014
FA Community Shield 2015
PFA Fans Player of the Month in both December 2014 and January 2015
During these eight years, he was out injured for 815 days – a seasoned pro with medals and silverware to show for it.
The above facts, are per WikipediA and transfermarkt for you to check out.
So as anyone can see, his career under Wenger was so much improved in both club honours and international caps., making him a world class player at every level.
Finally, his quote regarding Arteta “Arteta deserves to be the boss. He was always a leader in the dressing room. It was the right decision to put him in as manager, it made sense and he has everything you need for the job.”
As Santi never played under Moyes, I can only assume he saw what he talks about while both were playing for The Arsenal under AW.
I named those players for you to consider, simply because you are always quoting the players AW made mistakes over – just a gentle reminder of what being positive in mind can bring one, if one desires that feeling.
Ken1945, you defend Ozil and is insane wages all of the time! I even remember a time when EVERYONE, and EVERY MEDIA OUTLET was saying he was on 350k pw, and you were arguing against that! Sating it may not even be above 300k. Well you certainly got that wrong. Yes, you do get things wrong, and add a lot of spin.
In regards to wages not mattering in relation to performances…wrong again! Obviously there isn’t a scaled chart of performances in relation to wages. E.g. if you pay anything over 180k pw, that guarantees consistently high level performances. Every contract is a risk to some degree. But when you make a player your highest earner by some distance, and one of the highest earners in the entire league, then you DO expect a lot in return.
TMJW, first of all, I ask you to find any single post or article where I have said Ozil’s contract was anything other than obscene and grotesque – come to that, find me any post where I have said wages don’t matter.
What I HAVE said is that performances on the pitch should NOT be judged by what a player earns and therein lies the difference between you and me it seems.
It was fitting to mention Ozil in this article because we’re talking about a playmaker. He and Santi have the same role.
Are you seriously making a claim that Wenger keeping an injured Santi was great for the club, and Emery letting him go was a poor decision. That’s about as delusional as it gets! Wenger took up the option to extend Santi’s contract by another year in Jan 2017. The season before he only played 15 league games (21 games in total). In the 16/17 season when the contract was extended Santi only managed 8 league games (11 games in total), and Santi made zero appearances in the 17/18 season. That was good business was it?
Emery then came in and did the only thing he could with Santi. With only 32 appearances in his last 3 seasons, and only 11 appearances in the last two years, Emery had to let him go.
So because Santi won trophies, and more International caps whilst at Arsenal, then Wenger must be a genius? Are you seriously comparing Villarreal, Malaga and Recreativo Huelva to Arsenal? Of course Santi is more likely to win trophies at a club like Arsenal (irrespective of the manager), because Arsenal are a far bigger club, with far more financial muscle than Santi’s previous small Spanish clubs. Even though Santi would have continued to add to his International caps where ever he would have been, of course he’ll get far more exposure in the most watched league in the world, at a big club like Arsenal. It’s laughable you’re comparing Malaga, Villarreal and Recreativo Huelva to Arsenal.
I have said before, and I’ll say it again, you really should have become a spin doctor. Luckily people like me can deconstruct your nonsense.
You didn’t reply to my question (no surprise there I guess) – What’s worse, Arsenal wasting 4 million or 150 million?
Ignore paragraphs 3 and 4 as they are yours, as I had to copy your comment it was so long, into my comment box, so to save me from scrolling up down all the time.
Once again TMJW, you put words into my post – please point out where I compared The Arsenal to any other team?
You seem unable to digest a comparison in games played versus awards won – during his time in Spain, he actually won zilch – he comes to The Arsenal, playing under a manager who you say “lost it” from2008 and wins trophies, a manager who he praises as being instrumental in his success. Not good enough for you though – me? I’ll take his word for it.
On to the second part regarding Ozils salary – I’m not sure if you are agreeing that I have always said it is obscene and grotesque, but I am certain others will concur that this has always been my stance.
What I have debated long and hard, is that we have no idea what clauses are within the package do we?
Could there be a “games played” or a “goals scored” or a “chances created” etc etc. Clauses are something that I would suggest is in everyone’s contract… I always did.
Of course wages shouldn’t come in to deciding if any player has had a good game or not – are you saying that every player has to be judged not by performance, but by his wages?
Actually, if that was the case, it seems Arteta certainly believes he is earning his keep, having played him in every Premier league game this season – but I believe it’s because of his performances and money has nothing to do with it.
Do you really want me to answer the question on Lichsteiner? Of course if you judge both players on results, then Ozil has, since he joined us on half the reported salary he is now on, we have won three fa cups, we have reached the q/f of the CL and we have continued to be a top 4 club up and until the last three seasons – Lics played approximately three full game minutes, we won nothing and was clearly a great snip at a reported £4,000,000 a year… unless of course he had an “appearance clause” in his contract – we just don’t know do we?
Now, as I have answered your question, perhaps you will answer the one I have asked you at least three times with no response?
If the club were to offer Ozil a new contract and/or keep playing him for the rest of his current contract, would you still support Mikel Arteta and get behind his decisions?
@Ken1945. Yes Arsenal wasted that 4 million, but the total financial outlay on Ozil come the end of his contract will be over a 150 million! He’s only had one quality season for us. That is not money well spent, especially since signing his last contract.
Yet again you mention trophies won, as a reason for justifying a player being of use. For the billionth time, you can be a rubbish player, yet win loads if you’re lucky enough to be part of successful teams. Perfect example is John O’Shea. He won tons of trophies at Man U, including a clean sweep of all domestic honours , the Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup. So by your own logic he must be a better defender than Tony Adams, or Van Dijk for example. Even though everyone else knows he was a bang average utility player.
You do not judge of player’s ability and form, based on what they’ve won.
Arsenal won their first trophy in 9 years the season Ozil joined, but that doesn’t automatically mean he was great for us. In fact, he had a very underwhelming first season.
If Ozil got another contract with Arsenal (which would be the most delusional thing ever in football), and it was Arteta that pushed for it, then I would seriously question his judgement. I like Arteta, but if he did that, it would kill any optimism for the fans. It would be the same feeling if he kept Xhaka, Mustafi, Bellerin, etc.
Not even Klopp could do anything with our deadwood!
TMJW, so you do agree that I have always said his salary was obscene grotesque – that’s one point agreed then is it?
Secondly, using your long held view that since 2008 AW had lost the plot, that we we were not competitive and that we had dross players: Then on the 2nd September 2013, we made a record signing reported to be £42.5 million on a five year deal and earning a (reported again) £140,000 a week.
During his first season, he helped end our trophy winning drought with a FA cup win DESPITE (according to you once again) having a manager who had lost the plot six years previously, a team with no backbone and full of dross and terrible signings…what else could have caused the change, if not for Ozil?
Suddenly we were winning trophies again, climbing up the league (4th 3rd 2nd), still with the same burnt out manager, same dross players and no defence, according to you again.
Forward to the present day and (according to you again) we still have dross players, we still have no defence, but we have a new man in charge – and what does he do with Mesut Ozil?
WELL:
He has not missed one premier league game under Arteta, so have we made another mistake with Mikel then, or could it be that, like UE found out, Arteta realized what the player can produce – after all TMJW, he is with the man every day of the week during training and sees first hand what he is all about.
Yet you want me to believe that this man is a “bang average player” despite what the professional all say about him?
As I have said previously, if he does leave the club next season, the results should become incredible, after all, you have said so many times, it’s like playing with ten men, he is mentally weak, lazy and dross and we will be losing the player who is the cause of all our problems since he first signed for us.
There will be no limit to what we will achieve – unless, of course, the reported £350,000 a week we will save doesn’t actually improve our football on the pitch – but that won’t be possible will it, because under your rules, money dictates a players performance?
Back to Cazorla and your statement that, before joining The Arsenal, he was already a world class talent. You then state that the teams he played for before moving to The Arsenal can’t be compared to a top club – so why was he playing for such smaller clubs when he was already a world class talent?
Here’s what he said when joining The Arsenal:
“There’s a very good squad here and we want to fight for for titles and win trophies. The club has made a big step to sign players to have a better team and meet the expectations of the fans. I’m very happy to be here, Arsenal are a huge club. I hope to win trophies here, that is what I want.”…he had to wait until Ozil arrived before achieving that ambition!!!
The truth is, according to the player anyway, he would have stayed at The Arsenal if AW was still manager, instead of playing for a further two seasons in Spain, while gaining another 4 caps for Spain – yet you ask what could UE had done but sell him?
Show faith in a player who, from what has been posted on here, was adored by all gooners and who had progressed his football career under AW.
It took him just seven months, after his move back, to register 32 games for Villarreal, gain 4 more international caps and he’s still playing at the age of 35.
Quote about The Arsenal: “It was the biggest team I pIayed for in my career and I miss everything at Arsenal”.
He also described Ozil as “MAGICAL MESUT OZIL is a gift. He brings us something different, because he’s all talent, what he does is magic. He seems like he’s not there and then he changes a game with one control, one pass.”
I guess that sums up everything I have to say to you TMJW, the man you described as “not even fit to lick his boots” being lorded by Santi Cazorla as magic and a gift to play with.
“Santi is a proper play maker” you tell me and I agree – Santi sees Mesut as the ultimate playmaker and I can’t wait for him to come home and link up with Mesut, Mikel, Freddie and Per once again.
And mentioned that if Wenger is still here, Santiago will still be here as well. Will any top notch coach let such a player slip through his fingers and want to replace him with N’zozi or Banega.Santa will be happy to be here on the same salary.
@ken
Santi is probably one of those players who does not get the recognition he deserved,great player who had he been playing with better players would have been surely takes in the same breath as the Henry’s ,Pires ,Dennis and the such .
I honestly believe if him and Diaby had stayed fit we would have seen one of the true great midfield partnerships .
Absolutely agree and watching some of the games he played in, shows your observations are spot on.
As for Diaby, he was the Vieira replacement that AW found and that tackle was so cruel, obviously to him, but for the club as well.
Ken 1945
What a resilient person hats off to you make. Can’t tell you enough how much I fulljoy reading your words.
Jah son👍😊