Former Arsenal fan favourite Nacho Monreal has announced his retirement from football aged 36.

Nacho Monreal’s contract with Real Sociedad ended at the start of July and the left-back has now made the decision to call time on his playing career due to problems with his knee, saying “One stage is over. Try another one”.

When Monreal signed for Arsenal in 2013, he was brought in early due to a defensive injury crisis but the man known as ‘Cabra’ as a kid made himself a real cult hero with the Arsenal fans.

251 appearances, 10 goals, 20 assists, three FA Cups.

That was Nacho at Arsenal.

Arriving in 2013 from Malaga for £9m, Monreal stayed with Arsenal for six years before he was sold to Real Sociedad at the end of the 2019 summer window for just £225k.

While at Arsenal, the defender spoke to the Arsenal matchday programme about a number of events from his life when he was just 10, revealing that he was known as ‘Cabra’ or, to put it in English, ‘Goat’.

When asked what he was called when he was 10, Nacho replied, “‘Cabra’ – it means goat. But don’t ask me why!”

He was also asked what ‘Arsenal’ meant to him when he had just reached double-digits, and he said, “I knew that Arsenal was one of the biggest and best clubs in the world.”