:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/7419547/151126275.0.jpg)
As reported earlier by the BBC's David Ornstein, Arsenal were quietly working the day away in an attempt to shore up their issues at left back, and now Madrid-based newspaper AS is reporting that Malaga left back Nacho Monreal is currently in London in the hopes that he can follow his former teammate Santi Cazorla to the Emirates (translated from Spanish to English):
Nacho Monreal is very close to being transferred to Arsenal. The left side of Malaga is already in London right now to close their arrival in the Premier. The English club could achieve international recruitment of 10 million euros.
Again, this is fantastic news if this is indeed true. He started his career out at Osasuna (opposite current Chelsea wide back Cesar Azpiilicueta) before moving to the cash-infused Malaga side in 2011. He appears to be more of a defensive left back, which considering our options at the moment surely has to be a good thing (even if our attack might suffer from the left side), and he's already got built-in chemistry with Cazorla.
As always, we'll continue to track this as the day progresses.