Cazorla is still on the list of Atleti’s transfer targets.
Atletico Madrid president Andrea Berta has admitted that the club are interested in Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla, but have cooled their pursuit of the club’s midfield target Etienne Capoue of Toulouse.
The La Liga club have shown interest in Cazorla before, although with the Spaniard having such an impressive debut campaign at the Emirates Stadium last season, the Gunners are understandably keen to keep hold of the 28-year-old.
Yet Berta is not letting that put him off and has revealed that both players are in Atletico’s sights.
“We’ve been interested before [in Capoue], but now we’re looking into other options,” the president was quoted on footynews24.com.
“He [Cazorla] could be a possibility, who knows? There are always surprises in the transfer market.”
With the Spain international playing every Premier League match in 2012/13 and providing an impressive 12 assists and scoring 12 goals, manager Arsene Wenger will not sell Cazorla.
The Frenchman has also shown interest in Capoue – who has been making a big name for himself in Ligue 1 with some decent performances for Toulouse.
The 25-year-old scored seven goals, despite operating in a defensive role and Wenger views the France international as the ideal physical presence that Arsenal lack in midfield.
Therefore Berta’s comments serve as a double-edged sword, with Atleti’s drop in the pursuit of Capoue a plus, but their continued effort to turn Cazorla’s head a far outweighing negative.
The only thing likely to tempt the attacking midfielder to the Vicente Calderon Stadium would be Cazorla’s desire to return to Spain, as both clubs have secured Champions League football for this season.
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