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Arsene Wenger predicts more to come from Arsenal new boy Nacho Monreal

Image: Nacho Monreal: Set up Arsenal's winner against Aston Villa

Arsene Wenger expects newly-signed left-back Nacho Monreal to become an attacking force for Arsenal.

Relieved

Gibbs has been sidelined with a thigh injury picked up in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool on January 30 - which gave Arsenal little time to hasten a move for Monreal. Wenger had been on the Spaniard's case "for a long time", and was happy to have landed "one of our big targets". The Arsenal manager admits the January window was a testing period for the club, who came under criticism for not spending big despite obvious shortcomings on the pitch. "We had a difficult first six months of the season, because we were trying to extend the contracts of all the British players. That demanded a lot of work and then we had to deal with the (Theo) Walcott situation as well during January," Wenger said. "So personally I am relieved because we dealt with the situation and we extended all of our players (contracts), kept Walcott and bought Monreal, of course you can always do better but overall I feel the club has dealt with the situation we faced in a satisfactory way."