Nacho Monreal
Nacho Monreal
Spanish international defender Nacho Monreal joined Arsenal from Malaga in January 2013.
The 26-year-old is predominantly a left back and has represented his country Spain at youth level, for the under-21s and more recently for the senior team.
Nacho Monreal Profile | |
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Born | February 26, 1986 Pamplona, Spain |
Position: | Defender |
Squad Number: | 17 |
Previous Club(s) | Osasuna, Malaga |
Arsenal Debut | February 02, 2013 |
Full name Ignacio Monreal Eraso, but known as ‘Nacho’, the defender started his career with his hometown club Osasuna, where he progressed through the youth ranks to become a regular in the first team, making 127 appearances for the La Liga side. During that time he was an integral part of the team which reached the Europa League semi-finals in 2007.
Monreal’s performances for Osasuna earned him recognition on the international stage, firstly with the Spanish under-21s, where he notably started all his country’s matches in the 2009 Under-21 European Championship. He later became a full international, making his debut for Spain in a friendly win over Macedonia in August 2009.
In June 2011, Monreal signed for Malaga, where he was a regular in the team alongside Santi Cazorla. They finished fourth in La Liga, qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. Monreal made a total of 45 appearances during his time with the southern Spanish side.