I woke up with two missed calls – by the end of the day I’d signed for Arsenal before even telling my wife

Former Arsenal left-back Nacho Monreal has revealed what a crazy day it was when he joined the Gunners back in January 2013.

The Spaniard proved to be a smart signing by Arsene Wenger, arriving on the cheap and without being the biggest name, before becoming something of a cult hero for the club.

Monreal has now spoken out on a slightly bizarre story about the day he joined Arsenal, which included some missed calls from Santi Cazorla, and a rushed move that meant he’d actually joined his new club before even having the chance to tell his wife.

Monreal told Ladbrokes at the launch of Ladisfaction: “I signed for Arsenal on the last day of the January transfer window, and to be honest the whole move was crazy for me, because I woke up on that day with no idea that I’d be signing for the club.”

Monreal added: “I remember waking up on that day, checking my phone and seeing I had two missed calls from Santi Cazorla. I was a bit surprised because that wasn’t really a normal thing for me to wake up to, but I got to the training ground and called him back to see what was up, and why he was calling me so early in the morning…

“‘Nacho, Nacho, be quick… do you want to sign for Arsenal? Arsene Wenger asked me if you want to join the club.’

“Of course I wanted to, but it was all out of nowhere, so I didn’t know if he was being serious.

“‘Yeah, yeah, Nacho, it’s 100% serious.’

“And from that moment, it was crazy… I finished the training session with Malaga, and after training, Manuel Pellegrini – the head coach at the time – called me in and told me the club had received an offer from Arsenal. He asked me if I wanted to go, and I said yes.

“Three hours later, I was in London, signing the contract. I didn’t even have time to talk to my wife about it!

“She was working at the time, and I tried calling her nine or ten times, but she never picked up because she was working. So when she did call me back, I was like ‘I’m in London… I just signed for Arsenal!’

“I didn’t even ask her if she wanted to come with me, which is crazy when I think about it now. But at the same time, who doesn’t want to go to London and play for the Arsenal? I knew the answer, so I had to make the call for us, without her knowing. That’s how quickly it all happened, but it had to be that way because it was the last day of the window.

“So it was only ever Arsenal for me. And then, as my career went on, I always told my agents that as long as Arsenal wanted me, I was never going to leave the club. I loved it, because it really felt like a family for me.”

Monreal didn’t initially look like he’d definitely be first choice at Arsenal as he was up against Kieran Gibbs when he joined, but he ended up becoming a key player for Wenger’s side.

The former Spain international finished his time in north London with 251 appearances and ten goals, helping the club to three FA Cup final victories and three Community Shield titles.

It’s intriguing to hear what some transfer sagas can really be like behind the scenes, as Monreal’s move is one of those that sounds so much more hectic than you’d expect for clubs and players at such a high level.

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