On 7 August 2012 Arsenal signed Santiago Cazorla González from Málaga for around €20 million. Born on 13 December 1984 in Lugo de Llanera, Asturias, the midfielder was leaving Spain for the first time. In London he won two FA Cups. It was also there that he suffered the Achilles injury that kept him out of matches for 636 days.
Early years at Oviedo and Villarreal
Cazorla came through Real Oviedo's youth ranks until 2003, when he moved to Villarreal. He started in the reserve side and made his La Liga debut in the 2004-05 season. In 2004 the club won the Intertoto Cup, the first trophy of his career. In the summer of 2006 he signed a four-year deal with Recreativo de Huelva, with Villarreal keeping a buy-back option. He was a regular in the side that finished eighth in 2006-07, and that season earned him the 2007 Don Balón Award as the best player in La Liga.
Back at Villarreal, then Málaga
Villarreal used the buy-back clause in 2007 and he returned for the 2007-08 season. Under Manuel Pellegrini the team finished second in La Liga. In April 2009 he broke his fibula against Valencia and needed surgery. He stayed at the club until July 2011, when Málaga paid around €20 million for him. He played only one season at La Rosaleda, 2011-12, which the team finished in fourth place. That earned Málaga their first qualification for the Champions League.
The Spain national team
He made his senior debut on 31 May 2008 in Huelva, in a 2-1 win over Peru. A few weeks later he was at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, where he played in every match. In the quarter-final against Italy he scored one of the penalties in the 4-2 shootout, and he started the final, which Spain won 1-0 against Germany through a Fernando Torres goal. With Spain he also won bronze at the 2009 Confederations Cup and silver in 2013. He was part of the squad that won Euro 2012 and played at the 2014 World Cup, where Spain went out in the group stage. He finished his international career with 81 caps and 15 goals.
Arsenal: two FA Cups and 636 days out
He made his Premier League debut on 18 August 2012 against Sunderland. In his first season he made 49 appearances and scored 12 goals. Able to strike the ball with either foot, he took free kicks, corners and penalties. The club named him Player of the Month in January 2014, and that year he won the FA Cup and the Community Shield. In 2015 he won both again and was named man of the match in the FA Cup final against Aston Villa. From late November 2015 he was out for six months. His last game for Arsenal came on 19 October 2016, against Ludogorets. After that, his Achilles injury was complicated by an infection that ate away part of the tendon. Surgeons rebuilt the tendon and closed the wound with a skin graft from his forearm. He played 180 games for Arsenal and scored 29 goals.
Second spell at Villarreal and Qatar
After 636 days without competitive football, he returned in Villarreal's 2018 pre-season, and the club presented him on 9 August that year. His official debut came on 18 August against Real Sociedad (1-2). On 3 January 2019 he scored both goals in a 2-2 draw with Real Madrid. In 2019-20 he scored 15 goals, and his second spell at the club ended with 86 games and 22 goals. On 20 July 2020 he joined Al Sadd, coached by Xavi Hernández. In Qatar he won the league in 2021 and 2022, along with the Emir Cup and the Crown Prince Cup. He left the club on 2 July 2023 as a free agent.
Return to Real Oviedo and retirement
On 16 August 2023 he went back to the club where he had come through the youth ranks, on the minimum wage. He played 25 games in the Spanish second division in 2023-24 and captained the side in 2024-25, with 35 appearances and 5 goals. On 21 June 2025, in the second leg of the play-off final against Mirandés, he scored a penalty in a 3-1 win (3-2 on aggregate). The result took Oviedo up to La Liga. In 2025-26 he played 28 top-flight games, and Oviedo finished bottom and were relegated. On 2 July 2026 he announced his retirement in a video on social media.
