“I want to help Arteta”: Veteran Spanish midfielder says he is ready to help Arsenal to win premier league even if he will play for FREE

  “I want to help Arteta”: Veteran Spanish midfielder says he is ready to help Arsenal to win premier league even if he will play for FREE –

Santi Cazorla is smiling in the Qatar sunshine. Behind his grin, however, hides the one regret that remains as his career plays out: the way it ended at Arsenal.

The Achilles injury sustained at the end of 2016 led to a cascade of medical interventions to save not only his career but, at one stage, his right leg. After eight operations — including a skin graft to repair a tendon that had been “eaten” by an infection — he was able to think about playing again, but his time had run out with his contract expiring at the end of the 2017-18 season.

“I feel a little bit frustrated now because, in my mind, I was always trying to come back to try to play again for Arsenal, though I know it was difficult,” he tells The Athletic. “When I recovered and started to feel well again, I asked the club if I can make pre-season but they told me it’s so difficult for them