Do you know why Santi Cazorla had to cut his hand in order to play football again?

Santiago Gonzalez Carzola is widely respected as one the great midfielders to play in the Premier League.

The Spaniard arrived at Arsenal in 2012 and went on to become an integral member of Arsene Wenger’s team. The Arsenal captain became a legend for the Gunners however, at the peak of his career he began to suffer from different injury plagues and that unfortunately, brought his time at the Emirates sadly to an end.


It could be recalled that his injury problems started when he damaged his ankle while playing for Spain, in a match against Chile in 2013. It caused a crack in his bone and he confessed he truly felt pains but he kept on playing. However in 2016, he suffered a massive injury blow on that same right foot and he had to undergo about 8 operations.



The injury was so bad that it became an open wound that regularly got infected. The infection began to eat deep into his ankle, making an 8 centimeter gap. To solve this situation, the doctors decided to cut a part of his tattooed arm, to cover the hole and prevent further infection. It was really a sad period for Santi Cazorla as he couldn’t play for nearly two years.



After his rehabilitation was over, he decided to still give football a chance as he returned to boyhood club, Villarreal even at age 33. He has racked over 64 appearances for the Submarines with 12 goals to his name. This season alone, he has inspired them to fight for a Champion’s League spot as they sit pretty in 6th position, just 3 points off a fourth place finish.



Cazorla has never hidden his feelings about Arsenal, as he recently expressed his desire to return one day as a coach at the Emirates. Even though he didn’t stay with the Gunners as long as he would have wanted, he will forever be cherished in their hearts.