Emirates Stadium midfielder reportedly agrees deal with La Liga side.
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Atletico Madrid have reportedly agreed personal terms with Arsenal playmaker Santi Cazorla ahead of a possible summer move to the Vicente Calderon according to Marca.
This somewhat surprising ‘scoop’ alleges that the 28 year old is keen on a return to his native Spain and that Atletico Madrid owner Miguel Angel Gil Marin is now in London to conduct talks with the North London club about a proposed bid for the Spanish international.
This news may be very hard for Arsenal fans to swallow given the excellent first season the pint-sized midfielder enjoyed last term, during which the former Villarreal man scored a dozen goals and provided 16 assists in all competitions, arguably finishing 2012/13 as the North London club’s most effective performer.
Arsene Wenger has previously stated that he had no intention of selling any key first team personnel this summer, all to aware that the Gunners supporters did not want to see a repeat of recent summer sales of the club’s top performers, so it seems incredibly unlikely that the Emirates Stadium side would ever consider an offer for Cazorla.
Atletico Madrid have seen their top scorer Radamel Falcao complete a big money move to join AS Monaco but have looked to re-invest the £50m+ received from the Ligue 1 side in Diego Simeone’s squad.
Los Rojiblancos secured the services of Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois for a third successive season and impressive Brazilian youngster Léo Baptistão has joined the club from Rayo Vallecano as have experienced defender Martin Dimichelis from Malaga.
Simeone also won the race to sign Barcelona striker David Villa but could well be looking to bring in further additions as Atletico Madrid prepare for Champions League football, however a move for Cazorla is surely doomed to fail.