Santi Cazorla travels to Barcelona for injury treatment

Santi Cazorla has travelled to Spain for treatment for his Achilles tendon problem after failing to recover in time for Arsenal's two games against Tottenham and Manchester United. The midfielder was set to start against Spurs before the international break but has failed to return to training, which Arsene Wenger hopes isn't too far off.

The Mirror reports that Arsenal have sent Cazorla to be treated by Barcelona-based Dr Ramon Cugat, who has been a favourite of Pep Guardiola and has been known to perform miracles with injuries over the past few years. The 31-year-old is an important figure in the Arsenal squad, without whom the Gunners look short of ideas, which was apparent in their two back to back draws against Tottenham and United.

Cazorla was given an injection a month ago to alleviate his injury problems, which have prevented him from stepping up his training. The Gunners are ready to give him enough time to recover and come back fully fit ahead of a busy December schedule as Wenger tries to find the best midfield balance in the Spaniard's absence.

Wenger had chosen Mohamed Elneny over Granit Xhaka in midfield alongside Francis Coquelin, while Aaron Ramsey was also given the nod over Alex Iwobi. The Gunners failed to have an impact as the midfield were lacking in creativity and it was only after Wenger brought in Xhaka and Olivier Giroud that the north London side burst into life and scored the equaliser with a minute left on the clock.

"I knew it would be a bit more of a physical battle so I chose players who have experience and fight. That's why my selection was because of that. At the end of the day, everyone gave their maximum and there is a special spirit in the squad. That's why we came back, because the players who came on made the difference. That's remarkable," Wenger told Arsenal's official website.