Wenger to deliver Santi as Arsenal bag £15m Spanish midfielder

Arsene Wenger expects to complete the club record £15million transfer of Santi Cazorla by Tuesday.

Though Malaga are holding out for £20m, Arsenal hope a debt deadline imposed on the financially-stricken Spanish club will seal the deal.

On his way: Spain's Santi Cazorla

With Robin van Persie poised to leave, the capture of Carzola, 27, is the major signing of the summer that Wenger has been promising.
Wenger was beaten to the signature of the Spain midfielder last year by Malaga, who had been seemingly enriched by their purchase by Qatari Sheik Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Thani.

 

But the club now have to clear huge debts by the end of the month or face relegation to Spain's second tier, the loss of their UEFA licence and Champions League expulsion.

Arsenal have been hampered by the lack of an authoritative figure to deal with at Malaga, but with the player now set on a move and Qatari negotiators flying in this weekend, there is hope the deal can be concluded swiftly.
Adding Carzola to the signings of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud represents the most significant summer strengthening since Arsenal imposed financial constraints on transfers in 2004.