Nacho Monreal transfer: Andre Dos Santos was a scary proposition

Arsenal made a late transfer splash bringing left back Ignacio "Nacho" Monreal from CF Malaga to the Emirates on a four year deal worth £8.5m. Arsene Wenger initially intended to make him a summer target but the injury to Kieran Gibbs forced his move forward and in the light of Andre Dos Santos's plummeting performances, an imperative, as Brighton and Hove and thereafter, Liverpool, remain singed in our minds for the extent of his tomfoolery.

Monreal is an experienced hand at the Spanish league level and in addition has national experience representing Spain, with Joan Capdevila and more recently, Jordi Alba, superseding him. Wenger mentions monitoring him for a while and praising him as a technically proficient player. Hopefully, he will be as the gaffer says.

The drawback is Monreal is cup tied at the CL level which means that unless Kieran Gibbs recovers quickly enough we will have to trot out Dos Santos against the upcoming Bayern Munich encounter. The thought of Thomas Muller and Phillip Lahm slaughtering the Brazilian in a way that would make Quentin Tarantino blanch is scary. If Gibbs can't recover in time, Wenger will have to relocate Thomas Vermaelen to left back, and with the Belgian providing some disastrous low lights himself, this is a position that inspires no one.