Nacho - It was hard to watch last year

Nacho Monreal has revealed how tough it was to watch last season’s FA Cup final from the bench.

The Spain defender was an unused substitute as Hull City stormed into a surprise two-goal lead after just eight minutes at Wembley Stadium.

However, Arsenal fought back and Aaron Ramsey scored an extra-time winner to secure the Gunners’ first trophy in nine years, much to the relief of Monreal.

“I have good memories but while we were playing I was like a player and a fan,” he told Arsenal Player. “I was on the bench and couldn’t help the team so I can say that it was hard, but finally we won.

“In the moments when we were losing 2-0 after 10 minutes, it’s a difficult moment because we fought a lot to get to the final, to try to win the trophy and you saw that in 10 minutes everything seemed done. The team was strong, they fought a lot and finally we got it.”

Monreal has played a key part in this season’s cup run, featuring in three games and opening the scoring in the quarter-final win at Manchester United, and would relish starting the final this time around.

“The most important thing is the trophy,” the 29-year-old said. “It doesn’t matter if I play or I don’t play. When it’s just one game, the most important thing is the team and if I’m lucky enough to play, I will do my best, try to help the team as much as I can and I hope we can win.

“We know it’s just one game and anyone can win the trophy. At the moment we are the favourites but that doesn’t mean we will win the trophy. We have to work hard from the beginning, play together and compact, and if we do that we will have more chance of winning the cup.

“The team is excited knowing that we have the chance to win our second FA Cup in a row. It’s very important for us, the fans and the club and we want to repeat last year by winning again. It will be a dream for us again.”