Nacho Monreal has backed Arsenal to finish the season on a high after knocking Manchester United out of the FA Cup at Old Trafford.
The Spaniard, who scored his second goal for the Gunners in last night’s victory, says his teammates must maintain the same ‘dynamic’ if they’re to keeping winning in the final months of the season.
Speaking to Arsenal.com, the left-back reflected: “We have to keep going in the same dynamic and we only have 10 games left before we finish the season. We are playing in three different competitions and we want to win all of them. We have to keep going.”
Obviously our chances of winning the Champions League and Premier League are slim to say the least, but with lower league opponents in the semi-final of the FA Cup there’s a fine opportunity to make May’s showpiece final and the prospect of a third trophy in 12 months.
Hailed in all quarters for his performance at Old Trafford, Monreal went on to admit to the Evening Standard that regular football has really helped bolster his confidence.
Last year the Spaniard played second fiddle to Kieran Gibbs, but having already made more appearances this time out – in part thanks to a stint at centre-back – he says he’s again enjoying life at the Emirates.
“I feel really well this season. This season I have played more games than last season but I think last season when I didn’t play enough, I didn’t play really well. This season, the boss has shown more confidence in me and I am always very happy that I can help the team and try to play as well as possible.
“I prefer to play at left-back but you never know – at the beginning of the season we only had two centre-backs. Laurent was injured for a long time and I had to play at centre-back. It was a new experience for me but always the most important thing is to play so I am very happy when I play left-back or centre-back.”
The way things are going for Nacho you wouldn’t be surprised if he earns a recall to the Spanish national team. He’s not featured for them since November 2013 and missed out on the World Cup.
That finish was orgasmic!!!
I must admit, I was screaming louder than during orgasm.
It was a belter. Ox did pretty well too, sliced through united like a hot knife through butter!
Can’t wait to see what the kid is capable of- fingers crossed for a quick return because if he can gain the extra experience at this early stage in his career, he should become the truly special player we know he has the potential to be.
Oh also, no one else has asked a very important question yet…
WHAT DID SHE WEAR?!??!?!?!!!!
Macho Nonreal
Monreal has been superb this season. Great to have two genuine options at left back. For large periods of last season Gibbs was clearly the superior option, but credit is due to Nacho for nipping at his heels. Lovely finish last night too. More importantly, he’s looking more and more robust when defending and also turning defense into attack.
Oh, and he looks like the love-child of Peter Crouch and Napoleon Dynamite and for some reason that’s pretty awesome.
Not only has he nipped at Gibbs’ heels, I feel he is currently the better left-back. The performances that he’s given there this season have mostly been great. He may have to thank the period he’s had at centre-back for aiding him with that ‘looking more and more robust when defending’, it certainly made him a better full back.
If he continues the rest of the season playing the way he is, I suspect Peter Crouch and Napoleon Dynamite will want to claim publicly that it is their love child playing pretty awesome football, for some reason.
That’s impossible. Napoleon Dynamite is way too young and the other is a fictional character.
Haha, thumbs up!
To be honest it’s great to have both sides covered at wbk. Having Bellerin/Debuchy (when he’s fit) & Monreal/Gibbs gives us a superb set of options, balanced perfectly in terms of age and experience. With Gabriel/Chambers to rotate at CB, the defensive roster looks deceptively complete for a latter-day Wenger side, injuries notwithstanding. We do, however, have to reinstate the great understanding between Mert and Kos that they demonstrated last year as the partnership hasn’t been quite so miserly thus far (although we seem to have avoided the humiliating tonkings so far, excl. Monaco). This team has so much potential-… Read more »
“Nacho, Nacho Man. I want to be, a Nacho Man!”
I was getting a little concerned he hadn’t featured in the last 3 games – whether it was down to an injury or something else – but I was very happy to see him back in. What a great all around game he had, and that finish was just tastey. He’s up there with one of the most improved players of the season.
He played extremely solidly for Malaga, which is presumably why we bought him. He’s always had the quality, he just hasn’t really had the playing time he needed to show it I think.
He is solid in Malaga. Much similar to how we bought Gabriel recentl.
I love this lad!
Since he played that CB role, he really matured a lot. My favorite LB choice at the moment!
NACHO – NACHO MAN
I WANT TO BE, A NACHO MAN!
Nacho has really improved this season . IMO a much better balance at left back . Gibbs focuses on going forward too much , leaves us exposed. Hector has great pace to recover his position , so prefer that per , kos & nacho to sit
Completely unrelated to the article however I really miss Blogs’s impersonations of TGSTEL and that little pudgy fella.
I miss Park…
Definitely a class act, gives his all during games, never sulked when he didn’t get to play, put with all kinds of criticism playing at CD early this season (which was totally new to him) and just continued to work hard and put in quality performances. Great to have two solid options at LB which will also allow Gibbs to not be overused leading to injuries. Monreal may not have the speed that Gibbs has, but he certainly isn’t slow and does better reading the game I feel with well timed interceptions and picks his opportunities to get forward well… Read more »
I think Monreal should be at left back in team of the season
Nacho, everybody is now realizing how tasty you are ! Your composure scoring that goal was really cool. Chamberlain dribbles for the assist was devastating. Welbeck’s goal was more difficult than it looked, required good athleticism to keep that ball out of Man U defence and goalkeeper’s reach.
succeeded in beating De gea more than Most strikers with that goal! cool calm composed finish! credits to oxlade for that sublime assist also
His stint at centre-back position has made him more strong and robust in defending imo. He is putting up a genuine competition for Gibbs at the LB position.
Hey United, what type of goal isn’t yours?
NACHO GOAL
NB: joke also works with cheese, thank you my wife and kids
Fun fact, Azpilicueta was asked by the chavs website to make an ultimate 5 a side team and the only non chad player he chose was Nacho.
After watching the Match on telly live, the post match chit chat (can’t call it punditry), draw for the next round, an immediate play back of the recording, reading all the articles in Arseblog news, Skysports since the Match, I still can’t get enough. There are so many things that was right last evening – the result, – the draw, – the ref (!), – knocking out those cunts, – the hilarity of the dives (when it was not given), – the status of the cunt who went to join that lot when we needed him to stay (AW the… Read more »
A minute of silence for the 250 million spend by united !!!
Now lets laugh at those cunts 😀
Apologies. I couldn’t keep a straight face for the whole minute and started laughing early.
He’s Nacho regular left back.
He plays CB, and has Eis-cool finishing (expired pun, but meh wth).
Hes on fire this season. Chilli nachos
He’s been fucking excellent all season. Solid defensively and perfect timing on his forward runs. You can’t help but feel safe with him at the back (along with Koscielny and Coquelin).
The performances of our reliable Nacho will surely push younger Gibbs to not rest on his laurels.
The timing of his attacks and defending has really been where he has excelled this season. I bet being exposed at CB once or twice cemented that! But he was always a little more conservative there so credit to intelligent play!
Till december was thinking no way he will be 1st choice LB (Gibbs was putting in some good performances)but he has been very good , that time he spent in the centre defensive partnership has developed his game immensely. He has become more aggressive LB and seems to come out on top everytime he jumps up for the ball.
@Podolski sklep, She Wore A Red Ribbon.
I believe with Bellerin and Gibbs we are too attacking and can get exposed more.With Monreal I feel safe defensively.
Not so sure about that. A large part of our attack is based on getting our fullbacks into attacking positions beyond the midfielders, regardless of whether it’s Monreal or Gibbs or Bellerin or Debuchy on the pitch. I think the reason you sometimes see Bellerin and Gibbs further forward is that they are simply much faster runners than Debuchy and Monreal. I have no problems with the defensive work of either Bellerin or Gibbs.
Nacho average Lback after all.
Monreal was unreal.
Maybe the United players thought Neville had come on and got confused.
Gibbs needs to add goals to his repetoire but Monreal is also looking solid in defensive work. That ill advised stint as a Cback has done him wonders.
Absolute beast of a performance.
Nacho nacho man, I wanna be a Nacho man…
I must admit I didnt rate Nacho at all a while ago.. i thought he lacks pace and aggression. How wrong I was! Quality player. I now reckon he can even do a job in midfield!
unrelated, but did anyone else see this article:
http://elitedaily.com/sports/arsenal-star-dumped-after-friends-filmed-sex/960427/
obviously it’s a gossip site, but I wonder if his recent slump was related. He should stop taking dating advice from Giroud, haha
In other “news” headlines (and these are all really there) from the same website:
– Seafood Might Actually Be The Natural Antidepressant You Need
– Most Chill Baby Of All Time Throws Up The Peace Sign In The Womb
– Panties And Personality: What Your Underwear Choice Says About You
and finally:
– Spaghetti And Meatballs In Burger Form Is A Total Game-Changer
Okay, I’m sold.
Another good one: Nothing Is Something: 11 Reasons Why Chilling Is A Legitimate Hobby
Look at the description of that “journalist”:
“Joseph studied Journalism & Media Studies at Rutgers University”
That might just be a bigger waste of money than Falcao and Di Maria.
Monreal missing the world cup probably a good thing, would not be surprised to see him competing for a place in their squad again.
Am I the only person who thinks he looks like Kevin Richardson (minus the moustache)?
Get someone to get at Monreal, he is the weak link in that defence. If you can get at him, he will crumble and you can score against arsenal. Damn……… Hahahahaha…. Get the fuck outta here. always makes me laugh when commentators say stupid things like that. Can anyone from england tell me why arsenal is so hated, disrespected, underestimated and ridiculed at every opportunity? I know we are not the best team out there and we never claim to be, yet somehow we are treated with such disdain. I’m not English so I would like to know what the… Read more »
Hoping to see Maureen and his cunts go down to PSG tomorrow. A loss by Chelsea always feels lke a win for us. I really really really really hate them. The thought of them winning the BPL and the UEFA would be just too much to handle. Unfortunately, I don’t think they can be stopped for the BPL but at least they already have been bounced from the FA Cup and if they get bounced from the UEFA tomorrow there would be solace.Meanwhile I am still optimistic for the Monaco game. We either need 3-0 or even better a 4-1… Read more »
damn man, reading this comment after those wankers have already been eliminated in the most painful hilarious of fashion just makes me smile knowing that someone out there feels the same way as I do!!!
If Di Maria had scored across Szesney for 2-1 just before Welbeck’s gift, or had Smalling knocked it in for 2-2 soon after from the non-defended corner, would the Arse have won? And If Miss January had won his rotten penalty against an outpaced Nacho, would the Mancs have gone on? Answer: (a) No. fuck no, we were the better team, by far? or (b) the Mancs would have slithered a 2-2 or a 3-2? Still like Gibbs ahead of Nacho, who has been a big improver this year but lacks a bit of pace. That opening goal was superb… Read more »
If, if, if… What if Welbeck got his penalty shout, what if De Gea couldn’t save Santi’s volley, what if Sanchez’s effort wasn’t fingertipped away past the far post. What if Fellaini was given a yellow sooner before he’d given away 7 fouls. What if Rojo was sent off for a rash challenge from behind.
What if in all the games we’ve played well, dominated and lost, we actually won?
Love your logo, are you ever in NZ ….Mate?
I am merely being realistic after coming down from an unholy high after beating ManUre and analysing the chances created.
I don’t gloss over that it could have gone either way. For once, were deserved what we got. and stating Gibbs is better than Nacho is just common sense.
This post will terminate in 10 seconds.
I’m waiting until Bellerin gets the call up to the national squad. Dani Alves isn’t getting any younger.
Bellerin is Spanish and Alves, Brazilian.
Did I miss something ?
Yeah I got my nationalities mixed up, that’s my bad.