Who said romance was dead? Villarreal confirm Cazorla return

Beautiful news for lovers of good football and for fans of Villarreal in particular. Santi Cazorla is on the mend from a two-year Achilles tendon problem and will do preseason with the Yellow Submarine. It will be his third spell with the club and he hopes to prove his fitness and play in La Liga with them next season. 

Villarreal have not confirmed how long he will be with them yet. It will depend on how he does in preseason. Cazorla, along with the coaching staff and the medical team, will make the decision. 

Cazorla first joined the club's B team in 2003/04. He broke into the first team, playing 53 games before leaving for Recreativo de Huelva 2006. However, he returned for the 2007/08 season and spent another four seasons at El Madrigal before signing for Malaga in 2011/12. With the Andalusian side he produced a brilliant season under Manuel Pellegrini.

Next stop: London. Arsenal spent 20 million euros to take him to the Premier League in 2012. He soon earned the love of the Gunners' supporters. He had three fine seasons at the Emirates before the problems began with his Achilles tendon in 2015. 

The pain didn't disappear. Since then he has had eight operations on his ankle. A few months ago Marca dedicated their front cover to him, running an interview in which he explained the suffering he had been through and how close he had been to leaving football behind forever. An infection even left him fearing he would lose his foot. Now, Santi's back.