Arsenal favourite hails Mikel Arteta impact – Helped make Gunners ‘best decision’ he made

Arsenal favourite Santi Cazorla has praised Mikel Arteta for helping him to settle into the club and make joining the Gunners the ‘best decision’ of his career.

Mundo Deportivo cover comments from the midfielder today made to DAZN Spain’s Premier League show.

Cazorla, now 40-years-old, is currently turning out for Real Oviedo in La Liga 2 but very much eyeing up the end of his career and a move into coaching.

It’s been an interesting playing career for him so far, starting at Real Oviedo before joining Villarreal, leaving and returning from Recreativo Huelva, moving to Malaga and then joining Arsenal in a €19m deal in 2012.

He went on to become a firm fan favourite at the Emirates, making 180 appearances in total and managing 29 goals and 44 assists.

That total would have been considerably higher had he not suffered an ankle injury in 2016 that threatened his career and saw him spend 619 days out of action, missing 122 games for club and country in the process.

It was one of several issues that ruined his Arsenal career as he also battled knee injuries, an Achilles tendon irritation between 2015 and 2016 that saw him miss 145 days and 30 games in total.

He has no regrets despite that, though, and current Arsenal manager Arteta, who was in the final year of his playing career at the club at that point, was a big part of that.

“I always saw the Premier League as something far away, but when I had the opportunity, I didn’t hesitate. It was the best decision I made in my career,” he said.

“When I arrived at Arsenal, I found myself on a transatlantic liner. You realize how big a club is because of everything it does. The better players you have around you, the better player you are. The best decision I made was to go to Arsenal; it was where I had the most fun and where I grew the most.”

“Mikel helped me adapt a lot; he and his family made everything much easier for me.”