Arsene Wenger has said that he is very happy with the way Nacho Monreal played in his debut match for Arsenal against Stoke City.
Monreal has been recently signed by the Gunners. His signing was finalised on the last day of the mid season transfer window. Arsenal paid a transfer fee of 8 million Pounds for signing him from Malaga.
Monreal was included in the starting XI in his debut match and he stood up to the expectations of his manager. He looked really impressive in his very first match in the English Premier League.
Arsenal defeated Stoke in that match by 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Lukas Podolski in the 78th minute of the match.
In the post match press conference, when Wenger was asked about the performance of Monreal, he said, “He played really well. He came here yesterday and he went into the match without much practice. But, he looked in fine form.”
“He has shown that he has got the potential to play for a Premier League team. He was just a touch nervous in the first half, but, after getting into his groove, he played brilliantly in the second half. Some of his crosses were absolutely outstanding.”
“He is a quality left back and his arrival has certainly strengthened our defense. Hopefully, he would maintain his form in the rest of the matches of the season.”
When asked about the overall performance of the team against Stoke, Wenger said, “Our performance was quite decent today. But, the margin of our victory could have been bigger than this if we had cashed on the opportunities that we got in the first half. However, we got three points and that’s the most important thing.”
Arsenal is currently at no. 6 in the Premier League points table with 41 points in 25 matches.