Nacho Monreal Warns Arsenal Against Signing Sandro Tonali

Nacho Monreal has urged Arsenal to think twice before plunging back into the market for Sandro Tonali, warning that signing the Newcastle United midfielder could come at the cost of breaking up what he sees as an elite partnership at the heart of Mikel Arteta’s side.

The former Arsenal left-back, speaking to Rekatochklart, did not hide his admiration for Tonali’s talent or his potential impact in north London.

“If Arsenal buys Tonali, they will get the best midfielder in the world,” Monreal said, laying out the scale of the Italian’s quality as he sees it.

But the praise came with a sharp caveat. Arsenal, he pointed out, already spent heavily last year to bring in Martín Zubimendi and have Declan Rice entrenched as a cornerstone of Arteta’s project. For Monreal, that creates a brutal kind of arithmetic.

“They signed Zubimendi for a lot of money last year, so it’s difficult,” he said. “To have both Tonali, Zubimendi, and Rice would be a lot, so I can only imagine that they would have to sell either Zubimendi or Declan Rice if they really want Tonali.”

In Monreal’s eyes, that would be a needless sacrifice. He went even further, placing Arsenal’s current midfield axis at the very top of the game.

“In my opinion, they already have the two best defensive midfielders in the world,” he said, underlining his belief that the club’s spine is already built around the ideal duo.

Tonali continues to be linked with Arsenal and other leading European clubs this summer, but Monreal’s message to his old team is clear: strengthening for the sake of it risks tearing up a midfield he already considers close to perfect.