Key Takeaways
- Santi Cazorla made 304 appearances for Arsenal (2011-2018) with 38-40 goals and 60+ assists across eight seasons
- During 2013-2015, he was arguably Arsenal's most technically brilliant midfielder — elite passer who dominated games from deep
- A severe ankle injury in September 2015 derailed his prime years and quietly erased him from Arsenal's collective memory
- Despite world-class numbers and performance, Cazorla rarely gets mentioned among Arsenal's best midfielders of the last 15 years
- His story is one of brilliance interrupted: a 3-year peak that changed how Arsenal played, followed by injury-induced obscurity
Santi Cazorla is a Spanish playmaker who spent eight seasons at Arsenal (2011-2018), racking up roughly 304 appearances, 38-40 goals, and 60+ assists. He became one of the Premier League's most technically gifted midfielders before a horror ankle injury in 2015 nearly ended his career and quietly erased his prime years from the highlight reels.
Who is Santi Cazorla?
Santi Cazorla is a Spanish attacking midfielder, generously listed at 5'6", who built a career on doing the things bigger, flashier players couldn't. He wasn't quick in a straight line and he certainly wasn't going to out-muscle anyone. What he had was a first touch that made defenders look like they were wearing oven mitts, and a passing range that let him dictate games from deep central midfield rather than out wide, where he'd started his career.
Before Arsenal, he'd made his name at Villarreal and briefly Málaga, but it was in north London that he became the version of himself people should remember more fondly. He played predominantly as a central or attacking midfielder, sometimes shifted wide, but his best football came from the middle of the park where he could see the whole pitch and pick it apart.
How Cazorla ended up at Arsenal
Arsenal reportedly signed Cazorla from Málaga in 2011 for approximately £16 million — a fee that, in hindsight, looks like one of Arsène Wenger's better bits of business. He arrived as a creative midfielder in an Arsenal squad that was, gently put, in transition. Cesc Fàbregas had just left for Barcelona and Robin van Persie was on his way out the door too. Arsenal needed someone to plug a gaping creative hole, and Cazorla did exactly that, almost immediately.
What's easy to forget now is how smoothly he slotted in. No lengthy adaptation period, no obligatory "give him six months to settle" excuse-making from pundits. He just started producing.
The peak years nobody talks about
Between 2012 and 2015, according to reports, Cazorla established himself as the key playmaker in Arsenal's midfield, and by the 2013-2015 stretch he was arguably playing the best football of his career. This is the Cazorla worth remembering — the one pulling strings from deep, spraying passes across the pitch like he had a laser pointer instead of a left foot.
He won two FA Cups with Arsenal, reportedly in 2014 and 2015, both of which came during this exact window. Those trophies get talked about plenty. Cazorla's role in winning them, less so.
Here's the thing about Cazorla's game that made him special: he didn't need the ball in dangerous areas to hurt you. He'd pick it up in his own half, under pressure, surrounded by two or three players, and still find a pass that broke lines. Watching him play in this period was like watching someone solve a Rubik's Cube blindfolded — you knew something clever was happening, you just couldn't always follow how.
Santi Cazorla career stats at Arsenal
The numbers back up the eye test, even if they don't get quoted as often as they should. Over his time at the club, Cazorla's Arsenal career stats reportedly include:
- Approximately 304 appearances across all competitions
- Roughly 38-40 goals scored
- 60+ assists provided, according to reports
- An estimated 70+ passes per game during his 2013-2015 peak
- Approximately 85% pass completion rate during those peak seasons
- Eight seasons at the club, from 2011 to 2018
- Two FA Cups won, in 2014 and 2015
Compare that passing volume and accuracy to most Premier League "creative midfielders" being discussed today and it holds up remarkably well. Seventy-plus passes a game at 85% completion isn't just tidy — that's someone dictating the tempo of matches almost single-handedly.
The injury that changed everything
Late September 2015. A Europa League match. Cazorla suffered a serious ankle injury that, at the time, looked like a routine setback. It wasn't. What followed was reportedly one of the most brutal recovery sagas in modern football — multiple surgeries, repeated infections, and a rumoured moment where doctors discussed amputation as a genuine possibility.
He spent the 2016-2017 season, in the middle of what should have been his peak years, reportedly sidelined entirely, hit by setback after setback in his recovery. Think about that for a second. A player operating at genuine world-class level, at 31-32 years old — an age when creative midfielders are often at their smartest, if not their fastest — just vanished from the pitch for the better part of two years.
Football has a short memory at the best of times. Take a player out of the picture for two seasons during his prime, and by the time he's fit again, an entire generation of fans has already moved on to the next shiny midfielder.
Santi Cazorla's injury comeback
This is the part of the story that deserves way more airtime than it gets. Cazorla reportedly returned to competitive football in 2018 on loan at Villarreal, the club where he'd first made his name. Given what he'd been through — the surgeries, the infections, reportedly ten operations on that ankle — simply walking onto a pitch again was an achievement. Playing at a competitive level again bordered on absurd.
He later reportedly left Arsenal permanently to rejoin Villarreal, closing the loop on a career that had started there. The Santi Cazorla injury comeback isn't just a footnote in his story — it arguably says more about who he is than any of the assists or trophies. Most players in his situation would have retired quietly. He didn't.
Why he's Arsenal's most underrated star
Here's the uncomfortable truth: Cazorla became underrated largely because of timing, not talent. He arrived in the shadow of Fàbregas's departure, played his best football in a period when Arsenal weren't winning the Premier League (so fewer eyes were on the midfield generally), and then got injured right as his profile should have been peaking further.
Nine times out of ten, when fans build their "greatest Arsenal midfielders" lists, they reach for names tied to bigger moments — title wins, Champions League nights, transfer fee records. Cazorla's best work was quieter. It was a pass into space that led to an assist that led to a goal that someone else got credited for. It's hard to build a legend around "elite pass completion rate," even though, frankly, it should be.
Add to that the fact his story doesn't end with a triumphant final season or a statue outside the Emirates — it ends with an ankle injury and a loan move — and you've got a player whose Arsenal career reads more like a tragedy than a highlight reel. Tragedies don't trend. Trophies do.
Santi Cazorla and Spain
It's worth remembering Cazorla wasn't just an Arsenal player having a good run — he was part of Spain's golden generation, the one that dominated international football for the better part of a decade. Being selected regularly for a Spain squad stacked with Xavi, Iniesta, and company tells you plenty about the regard he was held in by his peers and coaches, even if English pundits sometimes undersold him.
Playing international football alongside players of that calibre and holding your own as a creative midfielder is not something mediocre players do. Cazorla wasn't just good by Arsenal's standards — he was good by the standards of the best midfield in the world at the time.
Where is Santi Cazorla now?
According to reports, Cazorla continued playing in lower Spanish divisions from around 2020 onwards before eventually retiring. It's a quieter ending than his talent probably deserved, but given the state of that ankle a few years earlier, "quiet ending" was already a best-case scenario nobody was betting on in 2016.
My take: he deserves better than he gets
Here's my one hot take on this, and I'll die on this hill: Santi Cazorla should be mentioned in the same breath as Cesc Fàbregas when Arsenal fans talk about the best midfielders of the post-Invincibles era, and he almost never is. Fàbregas gets the leadership narrative and the emotional pull of being an academy graduate. Fair enough — that stuff matters to fans. But strip away the sentiment and look at output: 60+ assists in 304 appearances, an 85% completion rate at 70+ passes a game during his peak, and two FA Cups actually won with the club (something Fàbregas's Arsenal never managed in his day).
The consequence of ignoring this? Younger fans genuinely don't know who Cazorla is, or worse, think of him as "the guy who got hurt" rather than "the guy who ran Arsenal's midfield better than almost anyone in a decade." If you're building an all-time Arsenal XI and you're picking your deep-lying playmaker on reputation rather than actual output, you're doing it wrong. Watch the 2013-2015 tape before you argue with me on this one.
Where this opinion doesn't apply: if you're ranking Arsenal midfielders purely on trophies and Premier League titles, Cazorla's case gets weaker fast, since Arsenal didn't win the league during his time there. That's a fair different lens to use. Just don't pretend it's the only one.
Who is Santi Cazorla?
Santi Cazorla is a Spanish attacking midfielder known for his passing range, close control, and vision. He played for Arsenal from 2011 to 2018, reportedly making around 304 appearances, and was previously at Villarreal and Málaga. Small in stature, enormous in influence — the football equivalent of "don't judge a book by its cover."
What team does Santi Cazorla play for now?
Santi Cazorla reportedly rejoined Villarreal after leaving Arsenal in 2018, and later played in lower Spanish divisions from around 2020 onwards before retiring. He's not currently playing top-flight professional football.
How did Santi Cazorla recover from his injury?
Cazorla suffered a serious ankle injury reportedly in late September 2015 during a Europa League match, then endured multiple surgeries and setbacks through the 2016-2017 season. He reportedly returned to competitive football in 2018 on loan at Villarreal — a comeback many didn't expect given how serious the injury reportedly was.
Is Santi Cazorla better than Cesc Fàbregas?
It depends what you're measuring. Fàbregas has the bigger reputation and the academy-graduate narrative, but Cazorla's Arsenal numbers — 60+ assists, roughly 85% pass completion at his peak, two FA Cups won — stack up remarkably well. Reasonable Arsenal fans can (and do) argue about this over several pints.
How much did Santi Cazorla cost Arsenal?
Arsenal reportedly paid approximately £16 million to sign Cazorla from Málaga in 2011. Given he went on to make around 304 appearances and contribute to two FA Cup wins, that fee looks like a bargain in hindsight.
What position does Santi Cazorla play?
Cazorla played primarily as a central or attacking midfielder, though he was also used out wide earlier in his career. At Arsenal, his best form came from deeper central positions where he could dictate play with his passing range.
Why did Santi Cazorla leave Arsenal?
After a serious ankle injury in 2015 and prolonged recovery issues through 2016-2017, Cazorla reportedly returned on loan to Villarreal in 2018 before leaving Arsenal permanently to rejoin the club full-time. His exit was driven largely by the aftermath of that injury rather than a fall in form or a falling out.
Was Santi Cazorla underrated at Arsenal?
Yes, reportedly by most measures. He delivered elite creative numbers during 2013-2015 — 70+ passes per game at around 85% accuracy — but gets far less recognition than teammates like Fàbregas or Özil, partly because his prime coincided with a trophy-light era and ended abruptly through injury.
Did Santi Cazorla play for Spain's national team?
Yes. Cazorla was part of Spain's national setup during the country's dominant era in international football, playing alongside the likes of Xavi and Iniesta. Being trusted in that midfield is a pretty strong character reference in itself.
So next time someone's rattling off Arsenal's greatest-ever midfielders and skips straight past Cazorla, do everyone a favour and bring him up. He earned it the hard way — with a broken ankle, ten-odd surgeries, and a left foot that deserved its own highlight reel. Underrated in life, underrated in football. Some things just don't get the credit they're owed until someone writes an 1800-word article about it. You're welcome, Santi.
