Arsene Wenger fails to give Santi Cazorla future assurances

Santi Cazorla’s future at Arsenal is up in the air after Arsene Wenger failed to give the midfielder any assurances on Thursday night.

The playmaker was put through his paces by head of performance Shad Forsythe on the Emirates pitch ahead of Arsenal’s Europa League semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid last night.

But whether the 33-year-old will ever kick a ball again for Arsenal remains doubtful after a nightmare 18 months with injury.

“He feels well,” Wenger said of Cazorla. “But he needs full preparation in pre-season to try to come back.

“Will he come back and where? I don’t know. Will he stay at Arsenal? I don’t know.”

The Spanish midfielder has undergone numerous operations on an Achilles injury that has required a skin graft from his arm.

The former Malaga man, whose contract expires in the summer, has been out since October 2016, but he is hoping to be back in full training in the next two weeks.

Wenger recently suggested, before announcing his departure at the end of the season, that he would give Cazorla a contract if he proved his fitness, but that now will be a decision for his successor.