Ex-Arsenal midfielder Cazorla, 40, scores as Oviedo return to La Liga

Real Oviedo won the La Liga 2 play-off final to reclaim the Spanish top flight after a 24-year absence, and Santi Cazorla, a former Arsenal midfielder, kicked off a dramatic comeback.

Cazorla, 40, converted a penalty late in the second half of Saturday’s second leg to give his team a 2-0 aggregate lead over CD Mirandes.

Ilyas Chaira helped Oviedo tie things up in the second half, but Francisco Portillo added a stunning winner in extra-time to earn promotion.

Cazorla was a member of Oviedo’s academy, but the club’s youth system was destroyed in 2003 by financial problems, which saw the first team re-enter in the third tier.

Cazorla was one of the tens of thousands of supporters and former players who bought shares of the club to keep it alive when Oviedo experienced another crisis ten years later.

The midfielder made 180 appearances for Arsenal before leaving in 2018 and was a two-time European champion with Spain.

He had 11 operations to treat the Achilles injury after it occurred in October 2016.