Arsenal: Why would you terminate Nacho Monreal’s contract?

There have been conflicting reports that Arsenal may have terminated Nacho Monreal. The only question I am left is asking is ‘why?’

Arsenal must boost their summer transfer funds through player sales. They have approximately £40-45 million to spend on potential signings, £6 million of which has already been shelled out on young Brazilian attacker Gabriel Martinelli.

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As a result, the Gunners must be efficient in their squad management, identifying both the key positions that must be addressed as well as the possible players that they have the opportunity to sell for decent compensation to reinvest. When working on such a small budget, every pound counts.

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So, it was rather surprising to see reports that Arsenal had agreed to terminate Nacho Monreal’s contract, allowing the Spaniard to return to La Liga on a free transfer. There has been a lot of confusion regarding Monreal’s contract, with conflicting reports throughout the season suggesting that the club had and then had not exercised a year’s extension, and it seems as though different messages are again seeping into the media once more.

Football.London, who were one of the first to report that Arsenal had exercised a year-long extension in the first place, have now reported that the contract has not been terminated and that Monreal will return to north London for preseason training this week. That is the report that I believe most. But nevertheless, the suggestions that Monreal’s deal might have been mutually withdrawn does raise the question: Why would Unai Emery and the club even want to?

Monreal is not the consistent starting left-back of a couple of years ago, admittedly, but if Emery did want to offload him this summer, there are other ways than just straight releasing him. There is a market for a wealthily experienced defender that should be exploited.

Alright, Monreal might not command £20 million any more, but there is nothing wrong with bagging £5-£10 million. That is precious money that can be reinvested into the squad. Just because it is small does not mean it should be ignored. These little sales add up.

Take the departures of Santi Cazorla, Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere. They might have only fetched £10 million each, but altogether that is £30 million that Arsenal have missed out in the past 12 months. That £30 million might just make up the difference in their pursuit for Wilfried Zaha.

It is easy to overlook the small sales of players like Monreal, but if done proficiently, they can make a major difference to a team’s financial muscle in the market. And given the restrictions that Emery and Raul Sanllehi are working under, at this point, every little helps. Selling Monreal, then, and not just terminating his contract is the sensible move, should he be sold whatsoever.