Arsenal can repeat Santi Cazorla transfer masterclass with £13m deal for Euro 2024 gem

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal pulled off a masterclass in 2012 when they signed midfielder Santi Cazorla from Malaga, and they secured him for a cut-price fee.

Cazorla only spent one year at Malaga after leaving Villarreal, but the Spanish side underwent serious financial troubles after significant investment in the squad.

This meant that they urgently needed to make sales, and as Cazorla was one of their key sellable assets, he brought in a fee of around £15m as he moved to Arsene Wenger’s side.

The midfielder impressed immediately, drawing a round of applause from the Arsenal squad after his very first training session, and he became an icon at the club as his technical genius shone over a four-year spell.

How Arsenal signed Santi Cazorla after Euro 2012

When Arsenal signed Cazorla, he arrived as a well known figure in La Liga, but was a fringe member of an incredibly strong Spain squad which won three major tournaments in a row.

Spain won Euro 2012, and Cazorla collected a winners’ medal. However, with the likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas ahead of him, and all featuring in the Team of the Tournament, he could not get a look in under Vincente Del Bosque.

Cazorla was selected in the squad after impressing in his home nation, but appeared for just 16 minutes of the tournament, with substitute appearances against Ireland in the group stage and France in the quarter-finals before his cut-price move to Arsenal.

With Mikel Arteta keen to add a defensive midfielder to his squad, he now has the chance to repeat Arsenal history by signing a fringe Euro 2024 squad member for a cut-price fee.

Arsenal have chance to sign Monaco and France ace Youssouf Fofana

Arsenal have been linked with Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana, who could be available for as low as £13m as he heads into the final year of his contract.

The 25-year-old is not a big name compared to other targets such as Newcastle star Bruno Guimaraes, but he is part of an impressive France squad containing the likes of N’Golo Kante and Eduardo Camavinga.

France recorded a 1-0 victory over Austria in their opening game, in which William Saliba made his tournament debut, and Fofana came off the bench in the closing minutes to help his side see the game out.

Fofana would solve Arsenal’s need for a defensive midfielder to support Declan Rice, without a huge outlay, and would not cost a lot in terms of budget.

The Frenchman, like Cazorla, would arrive as someone who has thrived in his country, but as a fairly unknown star moving to the Premier League for the first time after an International tournament. The parallels are apparent, and should he join, Arteta will hope he can have an impact close to the one his former teammate made in North London.