La Liga outfit, Villarreal’s announcement video to confirm Santi Cazorla’s return to the club from Arsenal has surfaced online this afternoon.
Cazorla, who developed into one of Arsenal’s most beloved players following his arrival from Malaga in 2012, failed to make a single appearance for the Gunners since October of 2016, when he picked up an achilles injury during a Champions League clash with Ludogorets.
The original diagnosis of the Spaniard’s problem suggested that he would be ruled out for just 3 weeks.
However, this has since obviously proven to be far from the case, with Cazorla having joined the likes of former Arsenal stars Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby in missing lengthy periods with what had originally been deemed only a minor issue.
Seraphin Health provided a breakdown of Cazorla’s injury nightmare in an enlightening video in September of last year, which revealed that the Spaniard had been forced to undergo a whopping 8 surgeries.
While the vast majority of Arsenal’s fans had long given up on the idea of seeing Cazorla ever line out in the club’s colours again due to his injury troubles, the Gunners’ faithful were surprisingly provided with a glimmer of hope back in April, when Cazorla was first photographed kicking a ball around by himself at the Emirates, before the 33-year-old made a miraculous return to training with the Arsenal first-team last month.
As such, supporters of the North Londoners quickly called for the club to offer Cazorla a new contract, in the hopes that the diminutive Spaniard may yet rediscover some of his previous brilliance on the pitch next season.
However, after having their hopes raised, Arsenal’s fans were quickly brought back down to earth by confirmation last month that Cazorla was set for a return to Villarreal following the expiration of his contract at the Emirates.
And Villarreal, where Cazorla spent 7 years during a pair of stints earlier in his career, have this afternoon confirmed the midfielder’s return to the Estadio de la Cerámica, courtesy of a brilliant video.