Nacho Monreal fiercely defends under fire Arsenal teammate

Nacho Monreal has fiercely defended his under fire Arsenal teammate Mesut Ozil, who’s been relentlessly lambasted by the press and members of the footballing world for his seemingly disinterested demeanour on the pitch in a Gunners shirt in recent weeks.

The Spanish defender believes that the 29-year-old playmaker has been treated ‘unfairly’ and that every individual professional conducts themselves in their own way, and after controversially retiring from international football after Die Mannschaft’s lacklustre 2018 World Cup campaign, it’s undoubtedly time that people begin to ‘understand’ the wrongly scrutinised midfield magician.

Ozil was also omitted from Unai Emery’s matchday fold that beat West Ham United 3-1 earlier in the Premier League campaign, and though it’s thought that the criticised midfielder was missing through illness, it’s since been speculated that a spat ignited between the former Real Madrid star and his new boss prior to the encounter.

Although Monreal is adamant that the supposed fracas is riddled with deceit, and speaking to the media before Spain’s UEFA Nations League showdown against England on Saturday (via Sky Sports), the versatile 32-year-old unreservedly revealed:

“People have been a bit unfair with him,

“He is a very famous player and obviously people love talking about him. Recently, it is always bad things. Like last time, he was sick and that’s why he didn’t play.

“People started to invent that he had a problem with the manager. It wasn’t like that. He got a cold, he was sick, that’s it. That’s why he didn’t play.”

Ozil is a natural operator in his department and a productive catalyst, however criticisms of the placid provider’s body language often surface in the press and amongst fans. But Monreal, contrary to differing opinions, insists that the renowned assist king isn’t necessarily the type of player to grab proceedings by the horns, and that he conducts himself in a collected, understated manner as it’s purely part of his gentle character and nature.

“People must understand that every player is completely different,” the experienced full-back added.

“He is like that [quiet] and 10 years ago he was the same. So you can’t expect on the pitch that he starts to fight, to talk with the referee because he never did it. He is not going to change in this case.

“The important thing is he plays at his highest level, gives a lot of assists, scores a lot of goals and basically helps the team.

“That’s what he knows. He doesn’t know how to go up to a player and grab him by the throat.”