Arsenal

Arsene Wenger: 'Arsenal took gamble signing Santi Cazorla'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 08 October 2015

Arsene Wenger admits that he initially questioned his decision to sign Santi Cazorla from Malaga in 2012 due to doubts over the midfielder's physicality.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that he had doubts over whether Santi Cazorla would be able to fully adapt to the Premier League.

The Spanish midfielder has been a big success since joining the Gunners from Malaga in the summer of 2012.

No player in England's top flight has registered more assists than Cazorla's 32 during that period, but Wenger claims that signing the 30-year-old was a big gamble at the time.

"You could question whether he was physically equipped to play in the tough Premier League," he told the club's official website. "It's true that I had that doubt, but his quality was so big that I was ready to take that gamble.

"His technical quality, his right foot, left foot, his availability, his vision and the quality of his passing made me go for it. I thought, 'If there is a team in the Premier League where he has a chance to make it, it's with us.' That's why I went for it."

Cazorla, who set Arsenal back around £15m, was crowned the club's player of the year just 10 months after joining.