TEN things you should know about Arsenal target Santi Cazorla

Here are 10 things you should know about Arsenal target Santi Carzorla:

1. Santiago Cazorla González was born on the 13th of December 1984 in Llanera, Spain.

2. Santi started his youth career at Real Oviedo before he was signed by Villarreal at 17. He made his first team debut on the 30th of November 2003.

3. Carzorla is known to be a speedy versatile midfielder who can play anywhere across midfield.

4. 2006 saw Cazorla depart Villarreal for Recreativo in a deal worth €600,000 on a four-year contract. However, Villarreal managed to negotiate a future buyback clause for €1.2 million.

5. His career at Recreativo was destined to be a short stay, after scoring in his club debut. Villarreal the next year opted to buy Cazorla back, believing he had proved himself worthy of first-team football.

6. 2008 saw Cazorla being named in the 2008 Spanish World Cup squad, the previous uncapped addition to the squad came as a surprise to the Spanish media. Luis Aragonés was asked to justify his decision, he stated: ‘they are players [Cazorla and García] who are performing very well and had the possibility of coming. I made myself decide between Riera and Cazorla where I considered each player’s form, and in Sergio García’s case, he has become very effective on the right wing, we needed another player there and he deserved to come.’

7. The 26th of August 2008 saw Cazorla respond to rumours that Real Madrid wanted to sign him. The Spaniard flat out rejected the club saying: “There are many other things in football besides Real Madrid. It’s clear that it is possible to say ‘no’ to them, there is no doubt that they are a great team, but I also feel very satisfied and valued at my club. I hope I can continue growing at Villarreal because I am young and I’m only starting off with the national team.’

8. Since rejoining Villarreal, he has gone on to play in 127 games for the club, scoring 23, despite injuring his fibula during the 2009/10 season, which caused him to miss the 2010 World Cup.

9. Don Balón, a weekly Spanish sports magazine, named him Spanish footballer of the year in 2007.

10. Cazorla returned to the Spanish national side after injury and, just last month, on the 4th of June 2011 against the United States during the first half, he scored twice – Spain went on to win 4-0.

Here is a video of the Spanish international in action:

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