Mesut Ozil's Arsenal stint: 4 revelations made by former teammate Nacho Monreal

Former Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal has revealed that former Gunners star midfielder Mesut Ozil had 'problems with everyone during his seven-and-a-half-year stint at the north London club. The 2014 World Cup-winning German was released from Emirates in January 2021 after falling out of favour with current boss Mikel Arteta.

Left-back Monreal, who now plays for Real Sociedad, had joined Arsenal seven months before Ozil's arrival in September 2013 during the Arsene Wenger era. The legendary Arsenal boss had led the Gunners to three Premier League titles, and seven FA Cup wins in his 22-year reign.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, the Spaniard shed some light on Ozil's stint at the Emirates and made four revelations. Monreal's first revelation was on the German's equation with his teammates. "Ozil's problem is that he had problems with everyone," he said.

The 36-year-old defender went on to add that things didn't end well between Ozil and Wenger. "It ended badly with Wenger. He didn't play the last few games with him. Then Emery tried to bring him back and make him our leader," the Spaniard said.

Thirdly, Monreal revealed that Arteta was quick to understand that others in the team could perform better than Ozil. "To begin with, he (Arteta) gave him a lot of confidence, and Mesut played a lot, but the coach understood there were other teammates who were in better condition. Ozil was one of the best players in the team, one of the best paid, but they saw he wasn't at the level required," Monreal stated.

Lastly, the former Arsenal defender stated that Ozil's injury woes became a cause of concern for the club. "As a person, he was good with everyone, but he also missed a lot of games through injury," the former Arsenal defender concluded.

Ozil made 254 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions and now plays for Fenerbache. The 33-year-old has problems at the Turkish club after being excluded from their squad indefinitely following reports of a verbal altercation with the club's interim manager and a lack of fitness in their last game. 

Last week, a cryptic statement on the club's official Twitter account confirmed that the former Real Madrid star had been excluded from Ismail Kartal's squad and Ozan Tufan, who was on loan at Watford last season. 'Our Football A-Team players Mesut Ozil and Ozan Tufan were excluded from the squad as per the decision taken. It is announced to the public,' a statement read. 

The German won three FA Cups during his time at the Gunners - alongside Monreal - but disappointments in the Premier League and Europe often overshadowed success in the domestic cups.