Trossard on his way & Santi Cazorla..

Morning all.

According The Athletic, Besiktas have agreed a €20million (£17.1m, $22.9m) deal with Arsenal to sign Leandro Trossard. The deal consists of an €18m fee with a further €2m in add-ons but the transfer is not yet completed, with wages up to around €9m and personal terms in the process of being finalised.

Logic suggests that if this deal goes through, a new face will be bombing up and down our left wing this coming season with a purpose. Not to just outrace his opponent but to get in behind him and deliver crosses into the box which turn into goals. Maybe he’ll even score a few of his own too. More than a few hopefully..

Plenty of names have popped up in recent weeks, from Christos Tzolis to Bradley Barcola with many in between but until anyone is signed, sealed and delivered, they are all just rumours.

What a player! Whether that was for Spain, Arsenal, Villarreal, Malaga or any of the other clubs Santi Cazorla played for during his long and successful career, the one thing he always did was entertain.

We all have our own favourite Arsenal players both past and present. The list in my head is about who was great when. What they brought to the team during their time at Arsenal. There are so many in my mind who brilliant, far too many to list that’s for sure. One player who I used to love watching is Santi Cazorla. A twenty years younger Santi is exactly what today’s Arsenal is crying out for in my opinion. Another is Gilberto but that’s a different story.

Just fourteen years ago, Arsenal signed Santi from Malaga for £10 million. He arrived just after Robin van Persie had decided to leave and during a summer which saw Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud joined Arsenal.

Santi’s debut came against Sunderland and ended the game with a man of the match award. If anyone didn’t know much about him before, they did after that game.

Santi’s first goal came at Anfield, helping Arsenal to a 2-0 victory and his first hat-trick was against Reading. He notched up four assists during our 4-1 victory over Wigan and played in all 38 Premier League games in his first season. 12 goals, 14 assists. Not bad eh. His second season started late as he was on international duty but once he returned, he was there to stay. Who can forget his free kick against Hull City in the FA Cup Final? Or his performance in the same competition the following year when Arsenal thrashed Aston Villa 4-0 in the final?

November 2015 though, things started to go wrong for our Spanish wizard as he picked up a knee injury against Norwich which ended up keeping him out of the game until the last day of the season when Arsenal defeated Aston Villa 4-0. The following season, 2016/17, Santi was going great guns until the 19th October when he sustained another injury. This one came following a tackle from a Ludogorets Razgrad player. Eight operations, an infection, gangrene and the uncertainty of being able to walk again, he went to stay in Salamanca for further treatment/recovery. However, he required more surgery.

Against the odds, Santi did return to play the game he loved but not for Arsenal as he joined Villarreal after his contract expired. Then he joined Qatari club Al Sadd before returning to Oviedo, the club where Santi’s footballing career began.

On announcing his retirement, Santi said:

“It started in Fonciello (a village near Oviedo), on just another pitch with a ball and a kid that wanted to play football. That’s where I came from. I had some great experiences, and I also had some difficult moments, but I never stopped trying.

“In the end, I came back (to Real Oviedo). Not to close anything but rather to feel it again. Now that everything is ending, everything fits together. I ended (my career) at home. In the same place where the magic began.”

A few of our Spanish Magicians best bits.. 

Have a long and happy retirement from playing Santi. However, I’m sure I’m not the only fan who’d love to see you back at Arsenal with your coaching hat on.

Catch up in the comments.