Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has rubbished claims that he was close to a move to Atletico Madrid in the summer transfer window.
The 30-year-old moved to the Emirates from Malaga in 2012 but was linked with a switch back to Spain to join Atleti as a replacement for the departed Arda Turan, per Darren Lewis in the Mirror.
However, Spain international Cazorla—who extended his Arsenal contract to 2017 in July—has now insisted that there was no truth behind such rumours and that he is committed to the Gunners, per Adam Skinner in the Express: "I never said I wanted to return to Spain. Those things just came from the press. I don’t understand why they publish that story because I have always been happy at the club. I feel very valued here and the club value me even more with a new contract. I never considered leaving Arsenal."
Cazorla has driven home his value to the north London outfit with a strong start to the 2015-16 season in which he has created more goalscoring chances than any other player, per Opta:
Per WhoScored.com, he has played every single minute of Arsenal's five Premier League games so far and set up the second goal as the Gunners claimed their first home win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Stoke City on Saturday.
Cazorla is likely to play a vital role for Arsenal in the run-up to Christmas, with the recent news that Jack Wilshere is set for a three-month layoff with a leg injury, per BBC Sport.
As part of a squad packed with creative midfield players—Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mesut Ozil to name but three—the rumours linking Cazorla with a move away from Arsenal were not completely unbelievable at the time.
However, in the face of stiff competition, the diminutive midfielder has consistently risen to the top, and Cazorla will be vital for manager Arsene Wenger in a squad lacking in a variety of areas.
Arsenal are short on genuine strikers and a back-up for defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin, but Cazorla in part makes up for that as both an occasional goalscorer and a distributor from deep.
The Gunners do still need added strength up front, though, as Theo Walcott is thus far failing to prove himself as a genuine alternative in the No. 9 role to Olivier Giroud.
Cazorla and the Arsenal midfield will always create opportunities to score, but if there is nobody in the box to find the back of the net, the Gunners will likely come up short in the Premier League title race once again.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2567562-arsenal-transfer-news-santi-cazorla-rubbishes-atletico-madrid-rumours
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