Out of the blue, Arsenal signed Nacho Monreal from Malaga for an undisclosed on the winter transfer deadline day on Thursday.
But who exactly is he? Many Gooners out there, me included, don’t know squat about the new face at our club.
So here are 8 things you should know about the lad:
1. Nacho Monreal, who stands at 5’11’’, is a 26-year-old Spanish left-back who began his career at Osasuna as a youth product.
2. In 2006, Monreal made the breakthrough to the Osasuna first-team. In the 2007/08 season, the Spaniard became first-choice left back at the Pamplona club until he moved to Malaga in 2011 for €6 million. He made 127 appearances in all competitions for Osasuna, scoring three goals along the way.
3. In 2007, Monreal earned his first cap for the Spain Under-21 side. He started every match in the 2009 European Championship, three in total.
4. He earned his first cap for the Spanish senior side in a friendly game against Macedonia in August 2009. He only played 15 minutes, replacing Joan Capdevila.
5. Since joining the Spanish senior squad, in 2009, Monreal has won nine caps for his country.
6. In his first season at Malaga, Monreal made a total of 33 appearances in all competitions, missing only seven games that campaign.
7. He scored his first and only goal for Malaga on the 27th of January 2013 in a 3-2 away win against Mallorca.
8. After only two seasons at Malaga, making a total of 54 appearances in all competitions for the La Liga club, the full-back signed for Arsenal on the 31st of January this year for a reported fee of around £8.3 million.
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i hope he is better than santos
I hope he does perform beta dnt gibbs cuz i dnt realli knw or ever seen him play.
English speaking only lease
Please improve your spelling, Jonny !
I hope he is better than Gibbs and can score like Baines. Santos ,what else can I say …should have been sold this January.
Remember Santos is a left winger that we have never played in his natural position
Wonder if he can play left wing as well
Seen a bit of Malaga this term and they know how to defend.perchance monreal can bring some of this nous to his new teammates ps vermaelen will have to play left back against bsyern which means our left side will be not much of a threat
I heard he’s a good crosser. And hopefully he is, so he can keep Giroud busy.
Hope he slides straight in with no hassles. Should be good with similar playing styles and Santi helping him gel.
Also do you not reckon he looks like a normal size, better looking than Peter Crouch?
He is also a big slim, needs to bulk up a bit like theo did…
He is a nice fullback believe me, i saw him in europa league! Cant wait to see him playn behind Poldosky!
Well the game with Stoke should show something of Nacho’s capabilities!!
Awaiting anxiously for the game to start!