When Nacho Monreal arrived at Arsenal in January 2013, he was an attacking full-back, to the extent that he found the net just six games into his Arsenal career following a cute one-two with Olivier Giroud down the left wing.

But after losing his place in the starting XI to Kieran Gibbs and inevitably succumbing to age, Monreal has steadily modified his game from a defender always looking forward to a technically astute and balanced player with one eye always on keeping things solid at the back.

He even lines up at centre-back these days in Arsenal’s 3-4-3 setup and last night’s superb performance against Southampton highlighted the 31-year-old’s transformation throughout his four-and-a-half years in north London.

Indeed, Monreal finished the match with the most interceptions and blocks of any Arsenal player, whilst weighing in with the second-most tackles, two clearances and three successful aerial duels. But far from being a limited defender, the Spaniard has continued to show his quality on the ball, producing the most touches and passes barring Arsenal’s midfielders.

Those returns are made all the more impressive by the fact Monreal was being fielded at left wing-back a few weeks ago, a role which saw him find the net against Manchester City in the Fa Cup semi-final, highlighting how he still possesses those natural attacking instincts but has modified his game to suit the Gunners’ needs.

If not a top-class player, certainly a top-class servant to Arsenal football club.

Liverpool are expected to splash the cash in this summer’s transfer window as they look to balance Premier League and Champions League football in the 2017-18 campaign.

Manchester City have been the early spenders since the end of last season, but it is understood that Liverpool are on the verge of confirming a couple of new players for next term.

According to The Mirror, Roma’s Mohamed Salah is closing on a £35m move to Anfield, with the attacker expected to sign a £100,000-a-week contract upon his return to the Premier League.

On Sunday, Liverpool’s official Twitter account posted a message from head coach Jurgen Klopp, with the German insisting that his club ‘would be a challenger’ for major silverware next season.

The 2017-18 campaign is still a few months away, however, and the priority for Liverpool supporters at the moment is the arrival of new players as they look to compete next term.

Salah is clearly getting a lot of people excited, and the Liverpool supporters are demanding that the capture is announced as soon as possible.

According to reports from The Sun, Chelsea could sign Juventus centre-back Leonardo Bonucci this summer in a deal worth £48million plus midfielder Nemanja Matic.

No doubt, the Italy international is one of the top defenders in world football, winning twelve trophies in the last seven seasons, and would be the ideal addition for Chelsea’s back three, having made a career from excelling in that set-up for the Old Lady.

But it feels like Chelsea are getting the rawer end of the deal. After all, Bonucci is already 30 years of age and although Nemanja Matic’s place in the starting XI became less guaranteed towards the end of the season, he’s still a top-quality midfielder – one who Transfermarkt value at £29.75million.

So, Chelsea fans, should your club accept paying a little over the odds for the the 70-cap international, or should they keep Matic and focus their transfer attentions elsewhere? Let us know by voting below…

As reported by The Sun, Manchester United are in the market for Romelu Lukaku this summer, even if they land another mega-deal in attack in the form of Alvaro Morata.

What’s the story?

Jose Mourinho is not messing about this summer. Man United are on the hunt for key talent that can make them into title contenders, even if it means signing two players for the same position.

The Sun reckon that Man United are ready to make a move for Romelu Lukaku, who Everton rate at a staggering £100m. That deal is not dependent on whether Alvaro Morata comes to Old Trafford too, say the paper, even though it will also take a massive amount of money to land him.

However, the paper also say that Mourinho will have to repair his relationship with Lukaku first, after the Portuguese sold him to Everton while he was Chelsea boss, rather than loan him out.

Can the progress be made to bring one of English football’s most lethal attackers to the Red Devils?

How good is he?

Lukaku’s goalscoring form for Everton over the last few seasons has been nothing short of sensational with 87 goals for the club in four seasons both on loan and after he made the permanent switch.

It’s not just his finishing prowess that’s to be celebrated either with his power and link-up play in the final third also exceptional. A move to Manchester United surrounded by better players would likely only enhance his goalscoring feats too.

Still just 24 years of age, he’s arguably not even in his prime yet. Whichever club he ends up at, he’ll likely be a star for and if Manchester United can get the deal done, they should have no questions about committing to the Belgian.

Michael Keane has revealed that he ‘cannot wait’ to start playing matches for Everton after joining the Toffees in a £30m move from Burnley on Monday afternoon.

Keane, 24, was strongly linked with a return to former club Manchester United this summer after a standout season for Burnley last term.

It was Everton that showed the strongest interest in the centre-back, however, and he signed a five-year contract with the Merseyside club on Monday after agreeing personal terms.

Keane could make his competitive debut for Everton in the first leg of their Europa League qualifier later this month, and the defender has said that there is “nothing better than playing games”.

Keane told Everton TV:

“I can’t wait – there’s nothing better than playing games. Everyone loves training but nothing beats playing matches. To have as many as we are going to have this year is great. I’m looking forward to it.

“Who knows what we can achieve? We’ve got to try to win the cups and see where we can get to in the league. It’s going to be a busy schedule but we’ve got a great squad for it. Hopefully it can be successful.”

Everton’s first leg of their Europa League qualifier will take place on July 27, before the return match follows on August 4.

Keane’s Premier League debut for the Toffees, meanwhile, could occur on August 12, when Everton open their campaign at home to Stoke City.

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Manchester United are bracing themselves for a bid from Real Madrid for their goalkeeper David de Gea, according to ESPN.

What’s the word?

The Spaniard has been regularly linked to Real since his failed move in 2015.

De Gea was all set to join the European giants, but the deal collapsed after paperwork was not filed by the deadline.

The shot-stopper performed a U-turn by signing a new contract at Old Trafford, but the rumours have never disappeared.

ESPN claim that United expect Madrid to come in with an offer after their target Gianluigi Donnarumma signed a new deal at AC Milan.

The Spanish giants also targeted Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois, but the Blues are not budging.

The report adds that De Gea wants to one day move to the Bernabeu, but United have no interest in entertaining a transfer.

Could United cope without him?

Big players come and go, and a club of United’s calibre will be able to move on if De Gea leaves, but he is currently under contract until 2019 and they have no need to sell.

The 26-year-old has transformed into one of the world’s best goalkeepers in his six years at Old Trafford, so it would be a blow to lose him.

However, manager Jose Mourinho put faith in number two Sergio Romero towards the end of last season, and the Argentine impressed.

The Portuguese coach would have no issue throwing Romero into the number one spot if needs be, but United have to make sure that there is not a repeat of the 2015 transfer saga.

They need to either rebuff Madrid completely or come to a swift agreement otherwise they could risk missing out on other targets.

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Former Everton midfielder John Collins does not believe that Ross Barkley can be included in the bracket of ‘top players’.

The 23-year-old came with plenty of promise when he burst onto the scene in the 2013-14 season after coming through the Toffees’ youth ranks.

Barkley has been good enough to become a full England international, but in the last year or so, his stock has fallen.

The midfielder has struggled to get into the Three Lions squad due to his performances at Goodison Park last season, some of which resulted in him being benched by manager Ronald Koeman.

It has seemingly been difficult for Barkley to perform well on a consistent basis, and there is a widespread feeling that he has not fulfilled his potential.

Koeman recently admitted to the media that the midfielder will end his 12-year association with Everton by leaving the club this summer as he desires a new challenge.

Barkley, who has one year remaining on his contract, has been linked to Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal but it remains unclear which his next club will be.

Collins believes that Wayne Rooney returned to the club from Manchester United as a replacement for Barkley, who the former midfielder claims cannot be regarded as a top player.

He told talkSPORT:

“Sometimes he doesn’t run, work and sweat enough for the team when you watch him. If he had Wayne Rooney’s attitude and desire then I would class him as a top player.”

“Is it confidence? I don’t think so because he’s got a lot of talent, he’s got skill, he’s got power, he’s got speed but to be a top player – as we are all talking about it – you have got to have the whole package. At this moment when I am seeing him he doesn’t have the whole package.”

Manchester United fans have turned their attention to Romelu Lukaku ahead of today’s Premier League clash against West Ham United.

Jose Mourinho’s side will get their campaign underway at Old Trafford, and they will look to capitalise on rivals Liverpool and Chelsea after both clubs dropped points.

The Merseyside outfit were held to a 3-3 draw by Watford, while defending league champions Chelsea were beaten 3-2 and had two players – Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas – sent off against Burnley.

While the results were positive from United’s perspective, some fans seemed more interested in the scorers.

Mohamed Salah and Alvaro Morata scored for Liverpool and Chelsea respectively on their league debuts, while Alexandre Lacazette netted on his first outing in the top flight for Arsenal on Friday.

Lukaku is expected to lead the line for United against the Hammers following his move from Everton this summer, and now supporters think that the pressure is on for the Belgian to score at Old Trafford this afternoon.

Chelsea were linked with a number of players on transfer deadline day, including Ross Barkley and Fernando Llorente.

Neither of those players signed on the dotted line, but one man who did was Danny Drinkwater.

The midfielder finalised a late move from Leicester City in a deal that BBC Sport claims cost £35m.

With the international break now over, Drinkwater has met his new teammates for the first time.

The Premier League winner took part in a training session on Wednesday and was put through his paces by manager Antonio Conte.

The Blues will be back in action this weekend and they just so happen to be taking on Drinkwater’s former club Leicester on Saturday afternoon.

It is unclear whether the 27-year-old will be part of the starting X as he faces tough competition from N’Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas and Tiemoue Bakayoko.

It seems, though, that the majority of Chelsea fans are happy to have Drinkwater within their ranks.

Real Madrid playmaker Isco was the star of the show for Spain as they closed in on automatic qualification for the 2018 World Cup with a 3-0 win against Italy on Saturday, and his showing certainly didn’t go unnoticed by Arsenal fans.

The 2010 world champions lined up without a recognised striker and the 25-year-old was given a more attacking role as a result, and he certainly didn’t let his nation down by scoring a brace as well as proving to be a constant menace for the likes of Marco Verratti.

He curled a brilliant free-kick beyond Gianluigi Buffon in the opposition goal in the 13th minute before he doubled Spain’s advantage five minutes before half-time with another strike from outside the penalty area.

Arsenal supporters were quick to have their say on Isco’s performance via social media, and many believe that he would be the ideal successor to Santi Cazorla when the Spaniard moves on.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…