When Arsenal left back Kieran Gibbs collapsed onto the Emirates turf clutching his thigh, Gooners were almost certainly dreading what was coming next.
And he did not disappoint. Andre Santos looked completely off the pace as he has done in virtually every match he has played in this season. And that’s not even bringing up his shirt-swapping antics at Old Trafford.
To describe Santos’ performances would necessitate a barrage of asterisks and with Gibbs set for two month lay-off, Arsene Wenger needed to act quickly with hours to go on transfer deadline day.
Early reports on Thursday suggested he was after highly-rated Athletic Bilbao centre-half Fernando Amorebieta to shore up an abysmal defence.
But that deal would not go through so he turned his eye on Nacho Monreal of cash-strapped Malaga, who was due to join in summer. It goes without saying that the specialist left-back, who has nine Spain caps, is a major upgrade on Santos.
The 26-year-old has been a consistent performer in La Liga at both hometown club Osasuna and Malaga. Monreal is comfortable in both defence and attack.
The Basque player has provided two assists and one goal from full-back, while he has typically Spanish technical qualities – a pass success rate of over 85 per cent – which should suit Arsenal’s passing game.
An added bonus will be the presence of his former Malaga team-mate Santi Cazorla which will make the settling in process much easier.
