Arsenal agree Monreal fee but Amorebieta pursuit falls through

Arsenal seal €9.3m Monreal deal

Feb 1, 2013 2:00:00 AM

The Gunners have secured the services of the Pamplona-born defender on a four-and-a-half year-deal worth €70,000 per week, but could not tempt Barcelona into selling their striker

By Wayne Veysey | Chief Correspondent

Arsenal have sealed a €9.3 million (£8m) deal for Malaga left-back Nacho Monreal, but have admitted defeat in their pursuit of David Villa.

Goal.com understands that Monreal passed a medical at the club’s London Colney training base on Thursday night after jetting into the capital and has agreed to sign a €70,000-a-week (£60,000) four-and-a-half year contract.

The formalities of the deal are set to be completed in time to meet the Premier League’s official 23:00GMT deadline.

The Londoners had centred their deadline-day sights firmly on Spain as Arsene Wenger made a late bid to shore up his leaky defence and add greater firepower to his attack.

However, the Gunners failed in their last-ditch pursuits for two other Spain-based players – Barcelona striker David Villa and Athletic Bilbao centre-back Fernando Amorebieta.

As revealed by Goal.com on Thursday, Arsenal tabled a formal bid of between £10million and £11m for Villa but Barcelona held firm despite Spain’s record goalscorer wanting to make the switch to Emirates Stadium.