Santi Cazorla is targeting a return to top-flight football in 2019 as he battles back from a tenth surgery.
The Spaniard hasn’t appeared in an Arsenal shirt since a 6-0 win over Ludogrets in October 2016, and has since undergone a succession of operations and almost lost a foot to gangrene.
The 33-year-old, whose contract at the Emirates is up this summer, has revealed how he has almost quit at times over the last year.
However, providing things go well, the former Malaga midfielder is aiming to make his Gunners return next year, despite having lost eight centimetres from the tendon in his right ankle.
"There have been moments when I've thought about throwing in the towel. I've thought things like 'maybe it is not worth continuing'," Cazorla told Spanish outlet RTVE.
"If things go well, maybe next year I can play at the top level again.
"The last surgery was seven weeks ago, and my tenth in total. The first surgery was risky because I took many corticosteroids and the skin deteriorated.
"Then a skin graft was proposed and after that, the infection ate my tendon."
