Verbal slap for Mesut Özil (33)!
Just last week, the ex-national player (92 caps/23 goals) was suspended indefinitely at Fenerbahçe. But even before that, during his time at Arsenal FC (2013 to 2021), he repeatedly offended colleagues and coaches.
Now his former teammate Nacho Monreal (36) follows!
The Spaniard, who played with Özil in London for six years between 2013 and 2019, told the British football magazine FourFourTwo: “Özil’s problem is that he had problems with everyone.”
And Monreal, who has been playing for Real Sociedad in his native Spain since 2019, continues: “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. In the beginning he trusted him a lot and Mesut played a lot, but the coach understood that there are other teammates who are in better shape.”
Özil was one of the best players in the team, one of the best paid, but colleagues saw that he wasn’t at the required level.
Despite all the criticism, Özil always made a good impression as a person: “As a person, he was good with everyone, but he also missed a lot of games due to injuries.”
Photo: AFP
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/nacho-monreal-spielte-between-2013-und-2019-fuer-arsenal-now-running-the-defender-for-real- 9b4844af547d4517ad0d17cd7d819fc1-79601088/image/7.image.jpg”/> Nacho Monreal played for Arsenal between 2013 and 2019. The defender now plays for Real Sociedad in the Spanish leaguePhoto: AFP
The 2014 World Champion switched from Real Madrid to Arsenal FC in the summer of 2013 for a fee of 47 million euros. With the Gunners, with whom he won the cup four times, he made 254 competitive appearances (44 goals).
But towards the end of his time on the island things didn’t go well anymore: First he had trouble with coach Unai Emery (50), then he played less and less. Under successor Mikel Arteta (39) at some point not anymore. In January 2021, the Arsenal Theater ends, he moves to Turkey to Fenerbahçe.
After being received to great acclaim in Istanbul, the former Germany international was rarely able to live up to the high expectations. In the current season, Özil has scored nine goals and two assists in 26 competitive games, but has already missed 13 games due to injuries and illnesses.
The absolute low point last week: the suspension of Fenerbahçe after his half-time substitution against Konyaspor (2-1) allegedly quarreled with coach Ismail Kartal (60).
The problems at Özil are not getting any less…
