Arsenal are on the verge of announcing a £16million deal for Malaga midfielder Santo Cazorla after the Spaniard completed his medical on Thursday evening.

The Guardian has reported that the deal will be announced some time on Friday, with Cazorla expected to travel with the Gunners squad to Germany next week where he could make his debut against FC Cologne in a friendly.

Cazorla, a member of Spain's Euro 2012 winning squad, had only moved to Malaga last summer after making the decision to leave Villarreal and played an integral part in helping the side finish fourth and enter into the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.

Santi Cazorla
Arsenal set to sign Santi Cazorla [Reuters] Reuters

However, the financial situation at Malaga has meant that the man who arrived for £15million has had to be sold in order to ease their debts.

The report in the Guardian states that Cazorla will put pen-to-paper on a four-year deal at Arsenal to make him the third major signing of the summer after the arrivals of Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski earlier in the transfer window.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will be pleased to have landed the attacking midfielder as there is still much confusion about the situation of Robin van Persie who has refused to sign a new contract, but has not yet been the subject of any officials offers.

The Dutch forward did not take part in Arsenal's pre-season tour of Asia and instead remained at the training ground in London Colney where has now been reunited with the first team squad as they prepare to travel to Germany

Cazorla will add another attacking threat to the Arsenal squad and could well be seen as a player to keep Andrey Arshavin out of the side. He is normally employed in the wide areas and last season managed to scored nine league goals in his 38 appearances.

With 46 caps for Spain, Cazorla brings a wealth of international experience and was a member of the 2010 World Cup winning squad, as well as making two appearances at Euro 2012 against Republic of Ireland and France.

There is also a suggestion in the paper that Arsenal could tie up a deal for Real Madird midfielder Nuri Sahin who is looking to secure a season-long loan away from the Spanish

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