Arsenal: Nacho Monreal 'happy' after establishing himself in Arsene Wenger starting line-up

Arsenal left-back Nacho Monreal says he is enjoying his time playing for the Gunners more than ever after overcoming a difficult adaptation to life in the Premier League.

The Spanish left-back moved to the north London in January 2013 for around £10m ($15m) after a wonderful campaign at Malaga.

But with Kieran Gibbs ahead of him in manager Arsene Wenger's pecking order, the defender made just 13 Premier League starts last season and also fell out of favour of Spain manager Vicente del Bosque for the 2014 World Cup.

Reports in Spain in 2014 even claimed Monreal considered returning to La Liga to play at Athletic Bilbao. However, the Spaniard rejected a move to San Mames to fulfil his dream of playing in the Premier League.

And after taking advantages of Gibbs's injury earlier in the campaign, he has established himself in Wenger's starting line-up as the first choice left-back.

The Spaniard revealed how he moved on from a difficult start to regain his confidence. "I feel really good living in London, I'm very happy living here and playing for Arsenal," Monreal told Arsenal Player.

"I think I'm more British now. It's always difficult, coming to London. It's another country, another language, different football.

"It's never easy, the first months are the worst because the life is not easy. You have to find a house, you have to meet other players, learn English as quick as possible, it's never easy."

Having started 22 Premier League games this campaign, the Spaniard has played a key role in the Gunners' recent momentum and he scored a goal against Manchester United to help his side to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Monreal said: "Really we can only do one thing and that is to train hard and well, so the boss can see that you are training well and that you want to play. You can do nothing more than that. I think that I'm playing really well because I'm playing a lot of games. I feel fit and my confidence is very high.

"Every player who plays for Arsenal is here because they are a great player not just good players. You need minutes on the pitch, that is the best way to play well."