Arsenal Star Back In Full Training Ahead Of Old Trafford Trip

By The Editor
on 4th December 2018

Nacho Monreal is back in training ahead of Old Trafford clash…

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Arsenal full-back Nacho Monreal has revealed that he’s back in full training ahead of our trip to Manchester United and his return is a timely one.

View this post on Instagram

Finally, on the pitch. Looking forward to playing asap @arsenal

A post shared by Nacho Monreal (@nachomonreal_) on Dec 4, 2018 at 10:18am PST

The 32-year-old has been out with a hamstring injury since October, with his last appearance coming in our 5-1 win at Fulham.

Monreal absence has seen Unai Emery forced into a formation switch with Spaniard going to a back three in recent weeks to counter the deficiencies in the squad.

We’ve switched to a back three, allowing the likes of Sead Kolasinac and Hector Bellerin to push forward and provide the width and it’s worked thus far.

This new shape allows Emery to partially rectify two problematic areas for us in the squad. With the wing-backs pushing on, our lack of direct wingers is subsidies by the likes of the aforementioned duo.

Also, Kolasinac is a bit of a liability at left-back in a traditional four. The Bosnian is often caught out of position and makes basic errors as to where he should stand in relation to his nearest central defender.

As Monreal builds his fitness back up, it will be interesting to see if Emery reverts back to his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation ahead of a busy December schedule.

The trip to Old Trafford is quickly followed by the visit of Huddersfield to the Emirates, while the conclusion of our Europa League campaign takes place next Thursday.