da bet sport： LaLiga champions Barcelona are eyeing a surprise move for Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal, according to Mundo Deportivo.
What’s the word?
da aviator aposta： Arsenal experienced a significant overhaul in the summer following the arrival of Unai Emery and, while the changes to the defence are not widespread yet, the additions of Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Stephan Lichtsteiner have shaken things up.
Those changes are likely to continue in the seasons ahead and it could lead the Gunners to wave goodbye to a fan favourite, as Nacho Monreal has entered the final 12 months of his contract at the Emirates Stadium – and Mundo Deportivo claim he is a surprise target for Barcelona.
Ernesto Valverde is keen to save money with a left-sided recruit as he considers options in the free agency market, with Monreal alongside Atletico Madrid’s Filipe Luis and Liverpool’s Alberto Moreno as alternative options as all three are set to be available for nothing at the end of the campaign.
Crucially, Barcelona are not looking for a long-term fix as it is stated they rate young talents Marc Cucurella and Juan Miranda very highly so 32-year-old Monreal may be the ideal option to provide depth behind Jordi Alba.
Expendable for Arsenal?
The concern for Arsenal will be that while Monreal is not a long-term solution to the left side of their defence, the Spain international is currently the only recognised left-back available for Unai Emery following injuries to Sead Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
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21-year-old Maitland-Niles was also merely a short-term fix for the issues down the left, with Monreal starting the season with his own injury issues, and his most natural position is in midfield – which shows that Arsenal’s options are extremely limited.
While it is likely Emery will look to solve those problems during the two transfer windows in 2019, Arsenal need to work with what they have at the moment and should hand Monreal a short-term extension to his contract, blocking a move to Barcelona in the process.
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