Ignacio "Nacho" Monreal Eraso ( or ; born 26 February 1986) is a Spanish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He started playing with Osasuna in 2005, going on to appear in 144 official games over the course of five

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

seasons. In 2011 he signed with Málaga and, two years later, joined

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, winning three

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

trophies with the latter club while taking part in 251 matches in all competitions. He ended his career in 2022 with

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septemb ...

, winning the

2019–20 Copa del Rey The 2019–20 Copa del Rey was the 118th staging of the Copa del Rey (including two seasons where two rival editions were played). In its original format, the winners were assured a place in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage, however th ...

. A full international from 2009 to 2018, Monreal represented

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

at the 2013 Confederations Cup and the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

Club career

Osasuna

Born in

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

, Monreal was a product of

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

's youth system and made his official debut for his hometown club in an away game against

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the S ...

on 22 October 2006, a 1–0

loss. He finished his first season with ten league appearances, adding two in that campaign's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

; after the

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

se's

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open league ...

to the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...

, he appeared in four matches as the team reached the last four, being eliminated by fellow league side

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Eu ...

. Monreal became first-choice in 2007–08, retaining that status in the subsequent seasons, with another youth product,

César Azpilicueta César Azpilicueta Tanco (born 28 August 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Chelsea and the Spain national team. A youth product of Osasuna, Azpilicueta spent three seasons in La Liga before switc ...

, being the undisputed starter in the other defensive wing.

Málaga

On 10 June 2011, Monreal signed a five-year contract with

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. They won the UEFA Intert ...

on a €6 million transfer fee. In his first season he initially battled for first-choice status with Eliseu, but ended up only missing seven games as the club finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League for the first time. Monreal scored his only goal for the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

ns on 27 January 2013, in a 3–2 away win over

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

Arsenal

On 31 January 2013, Monreal joined English side

on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee, believed by ''

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It h ...

'' to be around £8.5 million. He was given the number 17 shirt, and made his

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

debut against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Sto ...

two days later in a 1–0 home win. On 23 February 2013, Monreal provided the assist for countryman

Santi Cazorla Santiago "Santi" Cazorla González (; born 13 December 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer. A former Spanish international, Cazorla operated primarily as an attacking midfielder, but also played as a winger, central midfielder or as a ...

to score the winner in a 2–1 victory over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

. He scored his first goal for the Gunners on 16 March, opening a 2–0 win at Swansea City. Monreal returned from injury on 21 August 2013 to feature in Arsenal's 3–0 win at Fenerbahçe SK in the Champions League group stage play-off, playing the last three minutes in the place of

Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Southampton and previously for the English national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton Academy and started his career with ...

. On 26 September, he scored the deciding penalty in a

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only in ...

against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

to send his team into the fourth round of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. Upon the arrival of

Alexis Sánchez Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (; born 19 December 1988), also known mononymously as Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Marseille and the Chile national team. He is often lauded as the ...

in the 2014 off-season, Monreal took the vacant number 18 previously worn by

Sébastien Squillaci Sébastien Jean-Baptiste Squillaci (born 11 August 1980) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. From 2004 to 2010, he played 21 matches for the France national team while also making three appearances for the C ...

. On 23 August, he assisted

Olivier Giroud Olivier Jonathan Giroud (born 30 September 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan and the France national team. Regarded for his work-rate, strength, acrobatic strikes, shot power, consistent goal-sc ...

's late equaliser in a 2–2 draw against Everton. Additionally, an injury crisis in the squad saw him being deployed in an unfamiliar

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

role in a string of games, after Laurent Koscielny was put out of action due to an

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

injury. On 9 March 2015, Monreal scored the opening goal in a 2–1 win over

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after We ...

that put Arsenal through to the semi-finals of the

. He played the full 90 minutes in the decisive match, a 4–0 defeat of Aston Villa at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. On 19 January 2016, Monreal signed a new long-term contract. On 23 April 2017, he scored the vital equaliser as his team came from behind to defeat

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

in the

FA Cup semi-final The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. Location The semi-finals have always been contested at neut ...

at Wembley. On 6 November 2017, after good performances on the left side of a three-man defence, Monreal won the

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members. The aims of ...

Player of the Month award for October of that year. The following 20 January, he netted once and made two assists before retiring injured 30 minutes into an eventual 4–1 home win against Crystal Palace.

Real Sociedad

Monreal returned to Spain on 31 August 2019, with the 33-year-old joining

on a two-year contract. He scored on his competitive debut two weeks later, converting an easy tap-in at the hour mark of an eventual 2–0 victory over

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in ...

Anoeta Stadium Anoeta Stadium ( es, Estadio de Anoeta), currently known as the Reale Arena for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain that was inaugurated in 1993. The stadium lies at the Anoeta Sports Complex ...

. Monreal missed the entire 2021–22 season, due to a knee injury. On 23 May 2022, the club announced his departure. On 16 August 2022, Monreal announced his retirement at 36.

International career

In 2007, Monreal earned his first call for the Spain under-21 team. He started all their matches in the 2009 UEFA European Championship, in an eventual group stage exit. On 6 August 2009, Monreal was called up to the senior side for the first time, for an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

with

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

. He played the last 15 minutes for Joan Capdevila in a 3–2 away win; on 7 September 2010, in the nation's second game after they won the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, he played the entire 1–4 friendly loss to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

. Monreal was a member of Spain's squad which reached the final of the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourna ...

in Brazil, although he was second-choice left-back behind

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional Football team, football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish footb ...

's Jordi Alba. He started in the last two group games, beginning with a 10–0 thrashing of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Aust ...

at the Maracanã where he set up a

David Villa David Villa Sánchez (; born 3 December 1981) is a Spanish retired professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. Villa is regarded by pundits as one of the best forwards of his ge ...

goal. Monreal scored his first goal for Spain on 12 November 2016, contributing to a 4–0 defeat of Macedonia for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

. He was then selected by manager

Julen Lopetegui Julen Lopetegui Agote (; born 28 August 1966) is a Spanish former professional footballer, currently manager of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. A goalkeeper, he played 149 La Liga matches over nine seasons, representing Real ...

for the finals in Russia.

Style of play

Upon signing with Arsenal in 2013, the club's manager

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (; born 22 October 1949) is a French former football manager and player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. He was the manager of Arsenal from 1996 to 2018, where he was the l ...

described Monreal as "a strong left-sided defender with good experience at both club and international level. He is a technically gifted player, a good crosser in the final third and strong in the air." Although he usually played as a defensive–minded left-back in a four-man back-line, he was also capable of playing as a centre-back or even as a left-sided defender in a back three.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Monreal goal.''

Honours

Arsenal *

: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17 *

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier L ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...

runner-up: 2017–18 *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

runner-up: 2018–19 Real Sociedad *

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

: 2019–20 Spain *

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL ...

runner-up:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

Individual *

Fans' Player of the Month: October 2017

References

External links

Official Arsenal profile
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Monreal, Nacho 1986 births Living people Spanish footballers Footballers from Pamplona Association football defenders La Liga players Segunda División B players CA Osasuna B players CA Osasuna players Málaga CF players Real Sociedad footballers Premier League players Arsenal F.C. players FA Cup Final players Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain international footballers 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England