Nacho Monreal has confirmed his retirement from football at the age of 36.
The Spain international says he’s made the decision after a “loud and clear” message from his knees having taken his body “to limits that I would never have imagined”. Sadly, injury forced him to miss the entirety of the last campaign.
Signed by Arsene Wenger from Malaga in January 2013, the left-back made 251 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal across six and a half seasons.
During that time, he made 20 assists and scored 10 goals and was part of three FA Cup-winning sides in 2014, 2015, and 2017.
La Cabra also racked up 22 appearances for Spain, which was no mean feat given the players he overlapped with.
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While Monreal left the Gunners for Real Sociedad in 2019, he’s continued to speak fondly of his time at Emirates Stadium.
In an interview with the Guardian’s Sid Lowe in November 2020, he reflected: “I know what kind of player I am: I’ve never been a star who scores goals or makes the difference. But every time I pulled on the Arsenal shirt, I gave my all. I felt proud just warming up. You could feel the fans’ affection, gratitude. I’m very fond of them too.”
Fingers crossed we get to see Nacho back at Emirates Stadium at some point, it’d be fun for the supporters to thank him once again for his impeccable service.
Loved Nacho. Such a solid player for us. One of Wenger’s last unearthed gems.
This. In my opinion, he embodied and represented the club I love. Intelligence, class, guile and a wonderful left foot. Good luck Nacho!
Great player, so reliable, and 3 FA Cups is a lot more than some other clubs we know.
So true!
And an amazing fruit keepy uppy player.
I remember reading somewhere that at one point he was the only player that nobody had gone into The Armoury & asked for on the back of their shirt. Needless to say the season afterwards he had probably his best season in an Arsenal shirt & was one of the first names on the team sheet. Hoping The Nacho Man (Ohhhhhh yeahhhhh) enjoys retirement. Hopefully the club can get him over to a game this season for a presentation & we can give him the send off he deserves
I had one Arsenal poster in my room for years, and it was Nacho.
Absolutely adored his attitude and dedication. My last bought Arsenal shirt is with his name on the back, in 2017.
He has inspired some fans.
An underwhelming signing, this unheard of Spaniard in his late twenties bought as backup for Kiersan Gibbs. Who knew he’d turn out to be a legend?
Humble, hard-working, quality. A legend.
Nailed it! All the best Nacho
Ya, quiet football servant who just went about his business
One of Arsene’s very best, later buys. A ‘top – top’ player to coins phrase. And one of my favourite players of recent years.
Get him on the coaching staff – ASAP !
Only the very, very best for the future ahead. Thank you Nacho.
Truly Mr Reliable. You would never worry about his performance when you saw his name on the team sheet. All the best in the new phase of his life
Favourite defender since Lauren ♡
He was an average player: not rubbish but not great either. When I think about him I’m reminded of the mediocrity of the second half of the Wenger years.
He might make a decent coach or manager.
Yeah, you’re right, 22 appearances in ‘that’ Spain squad speaks of an average player at best
Who are you talking about?😮
Oh please shut up for once
In a better side, potentially great.
Just as everyone is stepping up in the current side, he would have be seen to be a lot better if his teammates were stronger. Not an average player.
Well harsh fats.
Nacho can be proud of his career and rightly so. Good luck in your next chapter Nacho!!!
All-time negative commentator legend.
Booo!
Can’t help himself. Sad.
It’s called attention seeking lol but like you say: “sad”
I take it you missed this in the news post: He also racked up 22 appearances for Spain, which was no mean feat given the players he overlapped with.
He was a true fan favourite thanks to his tremendous professionalism, work ethic, output and passion of course.
I was always happy to see him on the team sheet
Jack Charlton won the World Cup playing alongside Bobby Moore: does that make him a great player?
Ok, now I know you need help
Agreed never rated Nacho
Do you just say shit or do you actually think about the stuff you spurt out.
Mate you’re so blatantly just a troll that takes a contrary position for the sake of it, it’s actually boring.
At this point, I believe he feeds off the thumbs down, just the way some people do for thumbs up.
I’ll just start ignoring his posts. No thumbs up or down. No more feeding the troll.
He’d have made this Man City team currently dominating.
Is it because Nacho is in the singular and without lots of melted cheese on top that you aren’t attracted to him?
Average ? A good player in still a top four side, in the best league in the world, you are kinda watering down the meaning of the word.
I understand and agree with the sentiment regarding the second half of the Wenger years because I struggled to feel warmth towards any of the players in those sides as they were such a pale imitation of what we had before. Where I slightly disagree is that because Monreal was bought in one of those winter transfer windows where Wenger was trying to make up for his poor recruitment in the summer, he was actually already an established pro, not one of the usual unnecessary gambles and therefore because results were needed immediately actually half decent. I dare say if… Read more »
Lol. I used to think you were mostly just an unrepentant pessimist, but now I realize from this comment you might just be a troll who just says these things to keep up with the reputation of always being the odd man out 😂😂
I guess you must believe having the world think you’re an idiot is better than having the world not think about you at all. What a sad, pathetic little creature you are.
There’s no adjective to describe you, Fatgooner. You’re a strange one.
His first touch was great, just behind Ozil and Carzola.
Cazorla
Carzola. Sounds like a type of cheese. Maybe it goes well with Nachos
Gianfranco Carzola
Really appreciated the performances of Nacho a model professional. I wish him and his family all the best for the future
An amazing player he was. A quality player among all the dross we had. Happy retirement Nacho. Good luck to you.
Best of luck to Nacho.
Always a great servant to Arsenal and sometimes unfairly maligned.
I liked him..
Article is incorrect, it was actually 6 and a half seasons he spent at the club.
One of my favorite players, I’ll always remember the goal against united and flipping gthe orange into the fridge.
Thanks for your time Nachooooooooo.
The goal against united at Old Trafford in the fa cup, and the metallic sound as his left-foot shot hit the net is one of my best memories of him in an arsenal shirt
Where has time gone? I loved Nacho, that video made me cry, I wish him all the very best for the next step. Would love to see him at Arsenal in some capacity but who knows what his plans are. Thanks for good times,Nacho.
Most reliable player at Arsenal for over 6 years.
Strong in defence and good going forward.
Never any fuss with this guy.
I salute Nacho Monreal!
If “impeccable service” is missing tackles and getting caught out of position before pointing fingers at team-mates, then he’s the GOAT. I don’t know how gooners come up with descriptors such as “solid” and “reliable”. He was basically the Mustafi of left-backs.
You are mixing things up. Nacho is the one retiring, not Santos.
Was a great player for us, one of the most consistent we’ve had in some time. Always knew he would be solid and put forth all of his effort.
I always felt that with Nacho’s exit, there was a distinct decline in the team, mostly the fighting spirit faded in my opinion. Maybe other things were happening at the time and it was purely coincidental, but I always enjoyed watching the man play. Good luck, Monsieur Monreal!
A wonderful player. Thank you Nacho for showing me what a true professional looks like!
Three FA Cups.
That’s as many as Tottenham have won in 41 years.
And more than they have won in 40 years.
As many as they have won since 1967 ie 55 years.
Yes, of course.
Their (Tottenham’s) history is almost as laughable as my complete lack of lateral thought today.
My favourite Nacho moments were his goals against United and City in the cup but also watching his reaction after the Chelsea equaliser in the 2017 final. It really hurts him and that is why he was a great and reliable player. He cared, he really cared. Happy retirement Nacho.
One of my favourite playerd of his era. He was the personification of consistency. He rarely put a foot wrong, always gave his all and was a very decent if understated footballer. He wasn’t flashy so was under appreciated by some. Everyone expected him to be the back up to Kieran Gibbs but he usurped him, such was his reliability. He has the sort of personality that could make him a good manager or coach one day.
Don’t be a stranger to the Emirates, Nacho!
I wish I could retire early
I’m sorry to see that the wear-and-tear of advancing years has caught up with Nacho. He was one of my favorites.
Wow. The end of a glorious era. Here’s wishing you all the best in your future endeavours, Monreal.
Blessings 🙏🏾
A very fine servant – and I will never forget that equaliser at Wembley in the 2017 cup semi-final against Man City. Boom!
Next year, Emirates cup weekend. One of the games, some of the Arsenal old boys should throw on a jersey on more time
Santi, Nacho, Jack, Diaby to name a few
Always loved the attitude of Nacho. Such an unassuming team player. Wish you all the best.
Solid reliable leftback and even with the size disadvantage , did well whenever he was asked to fill in at centerback…Love him to bits as a player and person…
Legend!
Nacho was a good player, but what made him more special and great was his hard work, dedication and professionalism. It’s no surprise that he was loved by fans and he is still loved actually. Rest well in your retirement Nacho and hopefully when you come to join the back staff at Gooners. Good luck in your future endeavors.