Monreal deal was a must for Gunners

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed Kieran Gibbs' injury setback made it imperative for him to sign Spain full-back Nacho Monreal from Malaga.

The Gunners moved to push through a deadline day deal, believed to be for £8.5million, after England defender Gibbs hobbled off in Wednesday night's Barclays Premier League 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Emirates Stadium with a thigh problem for which the left-back could be ruled out of action for possibly the best part of two months.

"Our scouts have followed his progress for a while and of course we had a blow with the Gibbs injury, which is a bit longer than expected," Wenger said ahead of Saturday's match against Stoke. "We expected two to three weeks, now it will be four to six, so we were in a position where we had to make a quick decision. That explains our buy."

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