Wenger has the left side of the defense covered for the next 3 seasons as Nacho Monreal agreed to extend his contract until June 2019. According to Squawka, the Spaniard put pen on paper on the 19th of January and agreed to stay at the Emirates longer than anyone first expected. When moving from Malaga back in January 2013 everyone was doubtful regarding this low-cost move. He came in to be a substitute for Gibbs who was expected to finally become the player everyone wanted him to be. Unfortunately, the talented young defender was struck by injury and had to give his spot away to Monreal. Slowly but surely, the left-back became better and better, doubling his market value in the years spent in London.
Monreal is now a team regular and is getting close to hitting the same number of appearances for Arsenal as he did for Osasuna, the team he spent most time with. It is very likely that no new player will be brought in to compete for a spot in the starting line-up. Kieran Gibbs will also be around at least until 2018 so no changes are expected on that side. Regardless of what happens, the Spaniard is still on an ascending trend and will hopefully maintain the same level for as many years as possible. He will get some extra motivation as well as he is probably bumped up when it comes to salary. His previous deal gave him £50,000 which is less than several players who spend most of their time on the bench. Debuchy, Gibbs, Flamini, Tomás Rosicky and Welbeck earned more than Monreal prior to his new deal. He is now expected to earn around £65,000 which is pretty good for a defender such as him.