Nacho Monreal finally ended his six-and-a-half-season relationship with Arsenal as he moved back to Spain to join Real Sociedad.
The defender joined Arsenal in January of 2013 for Malaga and since then he has played in a variety of roles first under Arsene Wenger and last season under Unai Emery.
Primarily a left-back by trade, Nacho Monreal has also played in centre-back at Arsenal for a number of games and now after moving to the La Liga, the 33-year-old has revealed that he had plans to head out of England last summer itself but Unai Emery did not let that happen.
Monreal explained how Unai Emery refused to let him leave not only last year but also during the current summer transfer window.
“In my head, for weeks there was already the possibility of coming here, and a few days ago we agreed and here we are,” Monreal told AS(as reported).
“Last year, let’s just say we couldn’t come to an agreement because it was Emery’s first year. He was blunt from the first moment saying I wasn’t going out.
“And this year the parties have been more open. Emery kept insisting that I go on, even asked me to play the derby against London.”
VERDICT:
When Unai Emery took over last season he needed experienced players in his squad given that it was his first season in England. So we understand why he chose to keep hold of Nacho Monreal amongst a lot of other senior players.
And as this season, the Gunners have the likes of Sead Kolasinac and Keiran Tierney amongst their ranks but Unai Emery was hoping to use Monreal sparingly especially during those tough Europa League and League Cup games.
Also, the versatility of the 33-year-old was a big asset for the Gunners as last season, he played 16 games in the centre-back role despite being a natural left-back.
In the end though, it was not to be as Nacho Monreal was determined to move back to Spain in search of regular first-team football.
