Denis Suarez has opened up on his Arsenal nightmare.
The Spaniard arrived on loan from Barcelona in January, reuniting with Unai Emery, with whom he had previously worked at Sevilla.
But Suarez failed to make any impact at the Emirates, making just six appearances for a total of 95 minutes.
Now back at Barcelona, Suarez is once again preparing to move on, with the one-cap Spain international having no future at Camp Nou.
But the 25-year-old has spoken of his time with the Gunners, during what he has labelled ‘a season to forget’.
Suarez told Cadena Ser: “When I went to Arsenal , I remember that I got there on a Thursday. That Sunday I played against Manchester City . Then we had a break because of the FA Cup.
“Emery gave us some days off that weekend, [but] I stayed to train. On the Thursday at Bate Borisov I played.
“At the end of the game I thought that I had torn my groin and they did a scan and saw that I had an oedema [a fluid build-up] on the bone in my pelvis.
"I thought I had torn something; I was in a lot of pain. And from then on I carried on training with medication and putting up with it as best I could but I didn't feel right and [Unai] Emery didn't think I was right.
“I wasn't comfortable. I don't think I was even at 50 per cent. After 15 days of being at Arsenal, I wasn't right. From the 16th I wasn't even at 50 per cent.”
Suarez won’t be returning to north London this summer and his future is in question.
Barcelona handed him a contract extension prior to his Arsenal switch, to ensure his transfer value.
However, he is realistic in his belief that his time in Catalunya is set to end.
“I have two years left at Barcelona; I renewed my contact before I left. What I want is to play.
"At Barcelona I think I’m not going to have the opportunity to participate regularly and what I want is to leave and to play. Where? I don’t know. Wherever is best for me.
“I have to look at everything. My idea is to stay in the Spanish League, to be near home and compete in La Liga.
“The experience of the Premier League, which is a league I love, didn’t go well because of the injury and I prefer to continue my career in Spain if I can.”
