Monreal reveals how he helped Gabriel settle at Arsenal

Arsenal Left-back Nacho Monreal has revealed how he and compatriot Héctor Bellerin helped Brazilian defender Gabriel settle in at Arsenal. Gabriel is still struggling to learn English, but speaks Spanish from his spell at Villarreal.   The Gunners have an array of Spanish speakers in the squad, with Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal, Mikel Arteta and […]
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sambafoot_admin
2016-02-14 17:42:00

Arsenal Left-back Nacho Monreal has revealed how he and compatriot Héctor Bellerin helped Brazilian defender Gabriel settle in at Arsenal. Gabriel is still struggling to learn English, but speaks Spanish from his spell at Villarreal.

 

The Gunners have an array of Spanish speakers in the squad, with Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal, Mikel Arteta and Héctor Bellerin hailing from Spain, whilst Alexis Sánchez, David Ospina and Joel Campbell speak it as a first language.

 

Monreal reveals that he and Bellerin took it upon themselves to help Gabriel settle in London when he arrived in January 2015, “It’s good that I can speak Spanish with him on the pitch, but Gabby knows he needs to improve his English because that will make the football easier,” Monreal told the matchday programme.

 

“Myself, Hector, everyone is helping him every day with it because it’s much better for the team. know exactly how he feels, because it was the same for me when I first arrived,” he said. “When my English got better, I got better on the pitch too, because when you are playing one of the most important things is confidence.

 

“If you are confident in yourself, you feel better because you are more relaxed and you feel the authority to correct things you see. You feel more involved in the group.” Gabriel has started Arsenal’s last 3 matches, but is a doubt for the top of the table clash with Leicester City due to a thigh injury. 

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sambafoot_admin
Feb 14, 2016