An unsung hero delivers once again – Nacho I salute you
A victory to remember, a night like few others for Arsenal, the night we stopped what seemed to be an unstoppable Bayern Munich machine and reminded the world that we can compete with the elite in Europe. Oh and it’s also worth mentioning that this victory reinforces the point that Arsene Wenger is still a tactical genius but to be honest most true Arsenal fans didn’t need reminding of that fact.
Yet as the fallout settles over what was an exceptional win, one man who will not draw the majority of headlines once again displayed a calm and above all consistent performance which may have gone slightly under the radar – that man is Nacho Monreal.
This was a player who at times during his Arsenal career has been subjected to his fair share of criticism and I include myself in that bracket. It seemed for a while as if Monreal in an Arsenal shirt was never going to work, I like many others was wrong. For a time we were right but now we are oh so wrong. Please forgive me Nacho.
Can someone please locate Thomas Muller?
Going into the game the majority of the talk was focused on the prolific striking duo of Thomas Muller and the unstoppable Polish force of late, Robert Lewandowski. As a pairing the Bayern forwards have recorded 27 goals in competitive fixtures for the German giants so far this season, Muller with 11 and Lewandowski with an unbelievable 16 at this early stage of the season.

The unstoppable stopped
Yet as the game drew to a conclusion fans who were not too familiar with the game could have been forgiven for thinking that the statistics surrounding the two were hearsay – because Arsenal as a defensive unit marshalled them that well.
Muller for almost the entirety of the game played out on the right flank so it was Monreal’s task to keep tabs on the illusive German trying to prevent him from making the runs from nowhere that we have become familiar with.
However, despite Bayern posing a huge threat throughout the majority of the match with their intricate midfield play and Douglas Costa displaying glimpses of outrageous skill, Muller out on the right hardly got a sniff.
Every time the ball was elegantly swept out to the right flank to the boots of the lanky German Monreal was right there to disrupt his rhythm and track the player with possibly the best off the ball movement in the world.
To completely nullify a player of Muller’s ability is testimony to just how important our Spanish left back has become to our side, he sacrifices the majority of his offensive play in order to protect the rest of the back four. It is an unselfish trait which I don’t think is praised enough and in truth was what inspired me to write this piece.
In the build up to this week’s rather dull Monday night football Gary Neville was discussing how sometimes full backs have to accept that they will spend the majority of the game defending in order to benefit the team. I believe Glen Johnson facing up to the tricky feet of Jefferson Montero was the subject of his point.
This is exactly what Monreal did for 90 minutes, committing himself to one of the hardest tasks in world football in order for his team to benefit, and guess what? We really did benefit. For me too much emphasis is placed these days on how full backs can cope defensively but when you have one who can produce a defensive performance of that calibre they can be the difference between winning and losing.
A crucial player in a brilliant defensive unit
Of course Monreal is not the only one whom performed to such a high defensive standard, he is one of the cogs in what is becoming one of Wenger’s finest defensive creations in years.
Despite Bellerin having a rather torrid evening at times due to the mesmeric dribbling of the dynamic Douglas Costa the young Spaniard still put in a great defensive effort and his boundless energy is what helped us see off the game in the dying minutes.
As for Koscielny it is hardly something new from who I believe is the finest central defender in the Premier League to marshal a world class player. Well it was sort of a team effort from him and Cech to thwart Lewandowski’s best efforts throughout the game and the end result was another game without a goal from the Pole – rhyme not intended by the way.
Whilst were on the subject of Cech he seems like a great piece of business doesn’t he? Would like to thank Chelsea for that one. The Czech shot stopper was in impervious form as he palmed away everything the Bayern players could throw at him with one particular save against Lewandowski just before our first goal the pick of the bunch.
Mertesacker played his part too although in my humble opinion I believe Gabriel has rightfully usurped the BFG with his recent performances, but Per as back up is a rather good option in my opinion.
However, it is the regular unsung work of Mr. consistent Monreal for me has been the turning point in the fortunes of Arsenal’s back line. Too often was Gibbs exposed because of his readiness to bomb down the other end of the pitch but now we have someone who places defence as his highest priority, something we as a team crave.
A team with as many creative midfield technicians and forward thinking players as we have in our first team demands players who bring defensive stability and a protective shield to allow them to thrive. In Nacho we have one of the best currently plying their trade in this crazy world of football and I for one would like to salute his efforts and thank the footballing gods that he is ours.
I bet Alexis Sanchez is thankful he’s there more than anyone.
Correctly chose to support Arsenal though my whole family are Spr*rs fans. My name is Danny and i’m 21 years old with a huge interest in football throughout Europe. Arsenal have been responsible for many of my mood swings over the years and have probably shortened my life expectancy greatly but it has been worth it I guess. I post regularly on givemesport.com and try to provide useful insights as best I can, don’t judge me too harshly. Currently trying to find the finances to attend more Arsenal games although a student budget does not stretch far enough. Did I not mention i’m a student? Oh yeah I do that, studying Journalism although football is my main passion.
Hi Danny,
I watched last night as Cech was awarded man of the match by the pundits and whilst I agree that he was fantastic, I also agree with you that Monreal should have got it. That was the best game he has had in an Arsenal shirt. I have said for some time now that I believe that Bellerin and Monreal are the best full back pairing in the league.
I would also commend the rest of the team. They all to a man put a shift in . Particular mention to Coquelin and Santi. Le Coq battled manfully to break up the midfield of Bayern and Santi supplied the springboard for our counterattacks. I also agree with your assessment of Kocelny but I do think more credit should have been given to BFG. He did his part in nullifying Lewandowski. It was a joint effort to ensure that he was curtailed.
In regards to Arsene, tactically last night, he was superb. His defensive tactics and his timing in bringing on Giroud after Theo had subjected their defence to a night of running all over the place after him. Giroud got the benefit of those runs and all of a sudden their centre backs were faced with a different problem of a big strong bustling CF and they could not cope.
I do disagree with your comment that most true Arsenal fans recognised that AW was a tactical genius. I consider myself to be a true Arsenal fan and I give credit where it is due, but Cech`s performance last night simply reinforced the fact that AW should have played him in the first two matches. The performance last night was always there as it was with Man Utd. which makes those two games all the more derisory. I hope that AW has learned from the experience because if we give praises for his accomplishments, we are also entitled to condemn his mistakes and there have been many this season.
In regard to Cech, I agree that Chelsea did us a favour but it was down to Abramovich. Mourinho did not want to let him go to Arsenal. To his credit, Abramovich recognised what a travesty it was to keep a talent of such magnitude sitting on the bench and after the service he had given Chelsea, it would have been criminal to deprive him of nights like last night.
GunnerVic 1946
While I agree with you about Monreal, I don’t think Gabriel has usurped Mertesacker just yet. The BFG was absolutely fantastic for us that night and I couldn’t help but rub my eyes in shock at that outstanding performance. Indeed, he was miles ahead of Koscielny in that game.
He’s still first choice material.