Arsenal Dealt Fantastic Surprise From Nacho Monreal

Nacho Monreal was rumored to be on his way back to his hometown club, Athletic Bilbao, in the summer, but the Spaniard has pleasantly surprised Arsenal.

Of all the exit rumors that pass through Arsenal’s ranks, one that always seemed to make sense was that Nacho Monreal would be returning to Athletic Bilbao before too much longer. He is almost 30 years old and he has expressed an interest in returning to Spain while still at an age where he can be useful.

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This summer was pinpointed as the time when that unfortunate exit would finally come to pass. However, if the Metro is to be believed, Monreal has committed his future to Arsenal by inking a new contract that locks him in until 2019.

Nacho Monreal had always maintained that he was happily Arsenal’s and that he was only concerned with his life in North London. Yet, the lingering resonance of his desire to return to Spain was always lurking. Arsenal is the kind of club that would not sign a guy until 2019 unless both that guy, Monreal, and the club wanted to stay together until 2019. That means we have three more years of Monreal shutting down the left side of the pitch.

Monreal rose from substitute status when he was given the starting role ahead of Kieran Gibbs following the infamous New Years Day meltdown of 2015. Since that moment, Monreal has risen to the occasion to become one of the best left backs in all the land.

Lining up across from the electric Hector Bellerin, it always figured to be tough competition to look as viable going forward, but Monreal has become fantastic at gallivanting up and down the left flank. He delivers over a key pass a game and has notched three assists in the process. He is also not unfamiliar with scoring the occasional goal.

On defense, Monreal has utilized his time at centerback to become a tremendous all around defender. He averages over two interceptions and tackles per game and has become an aerial weapon as well (stats via WhoScored). While we have seen just about everyone on the defense look shaky at times this year, even Laurent Koscielny, Monreal is as consistent as they come.

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It is also clear that Monreal’s continued brilliance is spurring some bettered form from Kieran Gibbs. The two have a nice internal competition brewing and it should keep Arsenal locked and loaded at left back for years to come.