Arsenal signed Julio Pleguezuelo from Barcelona for their academy in 2013 and in the last two years, Arsene Wenger sent him out on loan to Mallorca and Gimnastic.
The Frenchman’s successor at the Emirates, Unai Emery, handed the 21-year-old his first team debut in the Gunners’ EFL Cup clash against Blackpool at the end of last month.
His contract at the north London club runs down at the end of this season and the centre-back has explained that he has offers from elsewhere, but his priority is to establish himself with the Premier League outfit.
Speaking to Spanish newspaper Marca, Pleguezuelo said: “I’m waiting to see how everything develops. I have to talk to my representative. My goal is to stay at Arsenal.
“I would like to continue and, if it is not here in England. I have offers in Spain, but at the moment it’s not my idea to go back.”
The Spaniard is aware that there is a lot of competition at Arsenal as the former Sevilla manager has Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkodran Mustafi, Rob Holding and Laurent Koscielny as the first choice players in that position.
“There is always a lot of competition, they are experienced players who have a lot of quality. I do not see them as enemies, just the opposite. For my part, what I will do is continue to give the coach reasons to select me and when he does, be prepared,” the centre-half said.
