'I was convinced I'd score my penalty'

Nacho Monreal is ready to be put on the spot again after firing Arsenal into tonight's Capital One Cup derby with Chelsea.

The Spain international netted the decisive penalty as Arsene Wenger's side beat West Bromwich Albion in a shoot-out at The Hawthorns last month - after youngsters Kris Olsson and Chuba Akpom had kept their nerve to keep Arsenal in the competition.

Monreal converted his spot-kick with the coolness and precision of a seasoned penalty taker. But he is nothing of the sort.

"Actually it was a strange situation for me because I had never experienced anything like that," Monreal told Arsenal.com.

"All the same I felt calm, I felt confident, I knew that I had to take the last penalty, and I did take it. I was convinced that I would score, I had to, and that is how it happened.

"It was difficult for us because we missed our second penalty, and at one point it was 3-1 to West Brom in the shoot-out. But they missed twice, it gave me a chance to score the last one, and it was a really happy moment.

"At a professional level I had not taken a penalty before, but in the youth divisions at Osasuna I was in charge of taking penalties, and so it wasn’t completely my first time in football.

Monreal was one of the senior figures in the Arsenal side that won at West Brom and he was happy to give the younger players guidance.

"More than anything it was about making them confident," said Monreal. "I think that the young players do have quality, and at that age their toughest problem could be psychological, the mental aspect.

"You sometimes need to calm them down, to tell them to do what they know. That is the best advice you can give to a young player - to step on the pitch and enjoy themselves, and do as best as they can. It is a matter of transmitting that message."