In 2012 he signed for East Bengal and due to the continued absence of their burly import Uga Opkara due to injury, he became one of the mainstays of the red & gold defence and also starred in East Bengal’s Federation Cup triumph in 2012. After one season with East Bengal he finally earned his first call up to the Indian senior team and scored his first national goal against the Maldives September 13, 2013. 

 

ISL

Arnab Mondal was picked by Atletico de Kolkata on July 22, 2014, as their second pick in the

draft - only next to Calvib Lobo. He therefore became Atletico de Kolkatas only Indian centre

back. Worth mentioning is that Mondal only was loaned out, and still belonged to East Bengal. 

 

Early on it was clear that Mondal would be a defensive key player for Kolkata. He formed a

well-oiled defensive line with Josemi and kept clean sheets in the two first games. As it turned

out Josemi became an important mentor for Mondal. "Josemi taught me a lot of things.

Whenever he told me anything, I always listened very carefully, so that I could implement

the skills on the ground when needed."

 

Also Josemi went on to praise his partner, and stated him as the best defender in the league.

"All the time I speak to him and tried to help him as he is a good defender. I think he is the best defender in the league. He has the quality to play in countries other than India. But concentration is most important for a defender and he loses it sometimes. But he is very clever and that's the most important thing."

 

As the torunament passed by Mondal grew as a defender. He became far more composed on the ball as the tournament progressed and he tried to find a pass rather than hoof it up on the pitch. Off the ball he showed exceptional skills. He faced tough opposition in the form of Alessandro Del Piero and Elano Blumer but did well to make life difficult for them. He put in numerous tackles and some truly vital blocks. 

 

Arnab Mondal played every game except the first semi-final clash againast FC Goa, due to an injury. 

 

POST-ISL

After the torunament ended Arnab Mondal returned to East Bengal. It also was rumored a that Atletico de Madrid had been so impressed by the defender that they wanted to enlist Mondal to their B team. Monda himself denied this rumor and stated he hadn't heard a thing.