Farewell Monreal!

Loyal Gunner Departs For Real Sociédad

Arsenal’s workaholic left back, Nacho Monreal, has left the club for La Liga side, Real Sociédad.

The 33 year-old spent six years with the club he joined in January 2013 (a surprise deadline day signing) and made 250 appearances.

Monreal initially played second fiddle to Kieran Gibbs, eventually claiming the left-back position owing to his superior skill and excellent match-readinIt is noteworthy that the versatile defender also played as a centre-half, netting 10 goals here and boasting a decent silverware collection as part of the team which won three FA Cups between 2014 and 2017.

The left-back’s transfer from Arsenal to Real Sociedad comes as a shock to the club’s supporters as he was reported to have signed a two-year deal. 

As a household name at the Emirates powerplay website, Nacho was a reliable and consistent player for the north London giants. However, his exit leaves Sead Kolasinac as the only fully fit left-back in Unai Emery’s squad, with summer signing Kieran Tierney still sidelined with injury. 

Given Kolasinac’s defensive inadequacies, the club may come to rue Monreal’s absence in the coming weeks. It may have been been a smarter move to retain the veteran’s services until January, by which time Tierney would be fully up and running for the Arsenal.