Arsenal: Nacho Monreal sale sounds too good to turn back now

Arsenal are all about progress this summer, and selling Nacho Monreal is progress, believe it or not. In fact, can we just do this already?

Arsenal fans love them some Nacho Monreal. He was voted the second best player last season because of how much he was able to impact the game from a much lesser-impact position. There was a stretch there where we almost expected him to score in any given game.

What has always been so valuable about Monreal is his consistency. He is one of the few Gunners out there that you can rely on for a solid six or seven match in and match out.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be hiccups from time to time, though. At 32-years-old, the biggest hiccups that have bothered Monreal involve his speed, or lack thereof.

Simply put, he does not have the athleticism to keep up with the modern winger. Mainly because the Gunners don’t run the the traditional ask – wingers aren’t even used. The fullbacks are asked to be wingers as much as they are asked to defend.

That doesn’t suit Monreal anymore. And he doesn’t fit at centerback either, because he’s not strong enough to fit into a back line.

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Monreal has value at depth, but with the direction the club is moving, he doesn’t have dibs at leftback anymore than Stephan Lichtsteiner has dibs at rightback. These are great options, but not reliable starters anymore.

The Gunners need young, athletic players who can carry the load of a winger and still not lose as much on the defensive side of things. That’s what someone like Sead Kolasinac can provide. There are clear drawbacks there, given his inconsistency, but as it stands, he’s a much better fit than what Monreal is.

It’s hard to sell a guy after such an impressive season, but we have to be realistic here. He’s not going to get any better. He may have another year or two of relevance, but relevance does not equal excellence, which is what we should be demanding at this point in the new era of Arsenal Football Club.

Sell while we’re ahead. That’s what we used to do, that’s what we need to do now. Monreal could fetch anywhere between £10m and £15m, which is a nice chunk of change, and enough to recoup on what would be needed to replace him.

Next: Arsenal's End Of Season Player Rankings

It’s a tough emotional sell, but practically speaking, it makes sense.

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