Top 5 Arsenal players who left on a free transfer

#2 Santi Cazorla

Santi Cazorla

After promising spells at Malaga and Villarreal in the La Liga, Santi Cazorla embraced English shores with Arsenal and instantly stamped his authority on a struggling team.

Initially signed as an attacking midfielder, the Spaniard altered his game and moulded it to fulfil the role of a central midfielder, alongside Francis Coquelin. With the pair in tandem, the Gunners produced a few encouraging away displays, a change that was brought about by Cazorla’s ability to control the game.

However, in 2016, the Spaniard suffered an Achilles injury. And, even though that wasn’t considered to be too serious initially, it ended up eating away a significant chunk of his career at Arsenal.

Cazorla had to painfully go under the knife numerous times and had to slice open a part of his forearm to repair the Achilles tendon that had been dissolved due to infection. To put things into further perspective, he was once told by doctors that he would be lucky to stroll around in his garden, let alone run or play football.

Consequently, the Gunners decided against handing him a new contract in 2018. Fortunately for the Spaniard though, he remarkably recovered and found his feet at Villarreal again, where he has performed admirably for the past couple of seasons.