Santi Cazorla thinks Juan Mata should leave

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has admitted that he thinks his Spanish international teammate, Juan Mata, should leave Chelsea.

Manchester United are rumoured to be close to signing for Mata for around £40 million after Jose Mourinho has made it clear he doesn’t need him at Stamford Bridge.

Mata has struggled to impress Mourinho this season despite creating the second-most chances in the squad and doing so while playing a lot less games than the majority of fellow attacking players.

It is for this reason that Cazorla thinks he should leave the club in search for first-team football elsewhere.

“If Mata doesn’t play, he will want to leave Chelsea, that’s obvious,” Cazorla said.

With the World Cup approaching, it is speculated that Mata is searching for a new team to force his way into Vicente Del Bosque’s squad.

Should he do so and move to United, he will be joined by Cazorla who’s enjoying a successful season at Arsenal.

The diminutive Spaniard also suggested that Iker Casillas, another of his international teammates, should look for another team. The goalkeeper has been forced to play in just Champions League and cup games for Real Madrid due to the emergence and form of Diego Lopez at the club.

“Casillas should try playing somewhere else,” Cazorla added.

Only Mesut Ozil (51) has created more chances than Cazorla (30) at Arsenal this season.