Although he is not as talked about as some of his other teammates, Nacho Monreal has had a very good season so far at Arsenal FC. However, a couple of years back, he had almost ‘missed’ his move to the North London club.
While talking about how his move to Arsenal FC transpired, Monreal said how a phone call from fellow Spaniard Santi Cazorla paved the way for his move to the Emirates Stadium.
“I remember on January 31, I woke up, looked at my phone and I had two missed calls from Santi. And I thought it was really strange, Santi calling me in the morning,” said Monreal to the Daily Express.
“So I called him: ‘Santi, how are you? What’s happened? [he replied] Nacho, do you want to come to Arsenal? [I replied] What pardon me? Yes, of course’.”
There was no looking back, as the Malaga full-back started packing his bags for London. He said, “So the transfer was really quick. On one day I was training in the morning with Malaga and I didn’t know anything, and then 10 hours later I was signing my contract with Arsenal.”
Monreal having a quietly brilliant season at Arsenal FC
It has not been all hunky-dory for the Spanish left full-back in North London, as he has had to endure long periods on the bench, playing second fiddle to Englishman Kieran Gibbs.
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However, Monreal seems to have come unto his own this season, having gained the preference of manager Arsene Wenger, who has started him in every Premier League games.
Although this might at first have been due to Gibbs’ injury, his good performances have meant that he has eclipsed Gibbs as the alpha left back at the club.