10 Best Spanish Players In Premier League History
The very best exports from Spain to grace the English game.
The Premier League is renowned for bringing in and relying on foreign players and managers to provide quality and entertainment. This is not a bad thing at all, with some of the very best from around the world making England's top division the best and most exciting to watch.
One country that has supplied a plethora of talent is Spain. From the mid 2000s onwards, there have been countless world-class Spanish players at top Premier League clubs. Given how the country dominated international football from 2008 to 2012, it is really not surprising that the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool would pay top prices to bring in players from the country.
Whether it be acrobatic goalkeepers, creative playmakers, or lethal strikers, the Premier League has been spoiled by excellent Spanish exports.
Not every player has made the transition successfully of course. The likes of Alvaro Morata, Iago Aspas and Kepa Arrizabalaga can only be classified as flops.
But more often than not, they're absolute class, as the following ten players ably demonstrated.
10. Santi Cazorla
Deciding who to put tenth on this list was not easy and, in the end, it came down to a choice of two midfielders: Santi Cazorla or Mikel Arteta.
While Arteta had a great career, making 359 appearances for both Everton and Arsenal, Cazorla’s spell in England was far more memorable.
Arriving from Malaga in 2012, Cazorla spent six seasons with Arsenal, helping the Gunners win two FA Cups and two Community Shields.
His impact was instantaneous, with his skill, hard work and creativity drawing plenty of admirers, and earning him the club’s Player of the Season award in his debut campaign. His greatest moment was undoubtedly scoring the free kick that sparked Arsenal’s 3-2 comeback victory over Hull City in the 2014 FA Cup Final.
Quick and technical, boasting a fantastic passing range and set-piece ability, Cazorla was in many ways your typical, classy Spanish midfielder.
Unfortunately, serious injuries ended his time in the Premier League, and it was even feared that he would lose a leg after his ankle was infected during an operation. But after making a miraculous recovery, Cazorla is still playing at the age of 35, with Al Sadd SC in Qatar.