Arsenal might lose the Spanish midfielder to Atletico as reports of Cazorla agreeing a return to La Liga have emerged.
Atletico Madrid have reportedly convinced Santi Cazorla to join them at the end of the season. According to Spanish radio station Cadena Cope, the midfielder has already provisionally agreed to join the Spanish champions and Atletico Madrid are now set to enter negotiations with Arsenal.
Cazorla joined Arsenal from Malaga in the summer transfer window of 2012 and has since been a key player for the Premier League club. In his first season at the club, the Spaniard appeared in all 38 league games scoring 12 goals and providing 11 assists.
The 30-year old has been a key figure for Arsenal this season as well, putting in highly impressive displays in a central attacking midfield position after Mesut zil picked up a long-term injury. And now, after the return of zil from injury, Cazorla is still an integral and pivotal part of the Arsenal line-up. In fact, the Spaniard has developed a beautiful partnership with zil and both are successfully leading the Arsenal attacks.
The reports of Cazorlaa s exit come as a huge shock. The midfielder is in great form and losing him to Atletico Madrid will be a big blow to Arsenal. Cazorla is contracted to play for Arsenal till the end of the 2015-16 season and if the Spaniard wants to leave the North-London club, the upcoming transfer window will be the right time to sell him. Arsenal can expect to receive close to A?20 million for the 30-year old midfielder. Considering his talent and judging him by his current form, the Spaniard will be quite a steal for Atletico Madrid.
If Arsenal acquiesce to Atletico Madrida s reported approach, Arsene Wenger will definitely dip into the transfer market to replace the midfielder. Another Spanish report from El Mundo Deportivo suggests that Arsenal will try to sign 26-year old Ivan Rakitic from Barcelona. The Croatian joined Barcelona from Sevilla last season. It is believed that Arsenal and Manchester City attempted to sign the midfielder in January after he was left out of the starting line-up for big matches against Real Madrid and PSG by Luis Enrique. However, the midfielder preferred to remain in Barcelona and fight for his place. However, it is now believed that Arsenal will attempt to sign the midfielder in the summer window.
The deal seems highly unlikely as Barcelona will not be keen to sell any of their talented players in the upcoming window as they will be serving the transfer ban imposed on them.