Santi Cazorla says he 'unfinished business' at Arsenal, and has also described himself as a human 'jigsaw' after undergoing 11 operations in the last two years.
The Spanish midfielder has endured horrific injury setbacks in recent times, and spoke to the BBC about his experiences.
What began with a simple kick to his ankle in a friendly against Chile in 2013, ended with a bacterial infection literally eating away 8cm of his Achilles tendon.
Wow. What a brutal injury.
Watch the full interview on Football Focus today at 12:00 BST on @BBCOne pic.twitter.com/LeIpkbYZ2I— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 22, 2018
What started out as a continuous aggravating pain resulted in the player stepping away from the game altogether in 2016 in order to find a solution to the problem.
His injury was unprecedented in the world of football.
I remember Arsene [Wenger] saying that he'd never seen an injury like it in all his time in football.
It's not just him who's said that, but everyone who's seen my foot and everyone who knows the story, including Mikel Sánchez who's operated on loads of footballers.
The numerous operations have required Cazorla to undergo skin grafts, which have left certain sections of his body looking a little peculiar.
I have parts of my body where they've put skin from my arm on my ankle and from my thigh on my arm.
So it's like a little jigsaw, parts of my body all over the place!
After spending six years at The Emirates, the diminutive midfielder left Arsenal in the summer. He had not appeared on the pitch for the club since October 2016.
He moved to former club Villareal on a free transfer, where he has made a successful return to the field of play. He has so far appeared in four games this season, providing an assist in their 2-2 Europa League draw with Rangers on Thursday evening.
While he is now enjoying playing football once again, Cazorla does hold a regret over his exit from North-London, in that he never got to properly say goodbye to the club and fans who treated him so well.
From then on, I could never wear the Arsenal shirt again, and it's that feeling of unfinished business that stays with me.
I'd always said if I ever had to leave the club I would say my goodbyes right in front of the supporters, because they have always treated me incredibly well.
