Mesut Ozil ‘had problems with everyone’ at Arsenal, says Nacho Monreal, as ex-Gunners defender reveals issues began under Arsene Wenger

Ex-Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal reveals Mesut Ozil 'had problems with everyone' during his time at the Emirates.

Ozil, the former Gunners playmaker, recently hit the headlines after being cut from the Fenerbahce squad for unspecified reasons.

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It's the latest in a long string of question marks against the former Germany international's career, dating back to his time at Arsenal.

Despite three FA Cup wins, 44 goals and 77 assists over eight years in north London, the 33-year-old's time with the Gunners turned sour.

Having fallen out of favour under Unai Emery, Ozil was also shoved to the side by Mikel Arteta, despite being the club's highest-paid player on £350,000-a-week at the time.

With scrutiny over his work rate and commitment, Ozil spent nine months without making a single Arsenal appearance and eventually left in January 2021 after the club ripped up his lucrative contract so he could join Fenerbahce.

And Ozil's former Gunners teammate, Monreal, suggests the midfielder's problems began under Arsene Wenger.

He told FourFourTwo: “Ozil’s problem is that he had problems with everyone.

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“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.

“To begin with, he 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.

“As a person, he was good with everyone, but he also missed a lot of games through injury.”

Things haven't gone entirely to plan in Turkey, either.

After his acrimonious Emirates exit, ex-Germany playmaker Ozil has struggled to find his feet in the Super Lig and injury restricted him to just ten appearances last season.

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He waited months for his first goal contribution and, despite being given the captaincy for the 2021/22 campaign, quickly fell out of favour and has failed to start a single league match since last October.

Back in November, club president Ali Koc issued a public statement criticising the forward and urging him to turn things around.

Ozil has nine goals for the Turkish club this season and was recently substituted at half-time in their 2-1 win against Konyaspor, before the suspension was announced days later.