In my Liverpool match review yesterday I said towards the end that I hoped Wenger would dip into the transfer market for a new left back and thankfully that's exactly what he did. Spanish international Nacho Monreal has agreed to join the club from Malaga on a long term contract for what's believed to be around £10 million. The deal is practically done, Arsenal are just waiting for the formal registration process to be completed.
I can't honestly say I know anything about Monreal apart from the fact he's 26 and has seven caps for the world and European champions. Everything I've read about him is positive so it sounds like he should fit in nicely with Arsenal, plus he's got his old teammate Santi Cazorla already here to guide him. With Gibbs picking up that thigh injury on Wednesday night it left Santos as our only senior left back. That mere thought is enough to terrify every Arsenal fan and Wenger must have seen it too. Hopefully this Monreal deal can be completed today but it'll be highly unlikely he'll play tomorrow against Stoke, so I expect we'll be forced to watch Santos one more time. I honestly think that with the signing of Monreal it spells the end for Santos at the club. He's a likeable chap but his flaws are too visible to ignore and I think Arsene really needs to offload him in the summer.
Overall I'd have liked Wenger to be more active this January but since I expected nothing at all, the signing of Monreal came as a nice surprise. I bought tickets for Arsenal - Aston Villa last week so I'm looking forward to seeing him in the flesh on the 23rd February. Hopefully he can fit in well and add a bit of solidity to our weak back-line.
Thanks for reading.
