Thursday 6 September 2018 18:52, UK
Nacho Monreal has defended Arsenal team-mate Mesut Ozil following his start to the new season, insisting the player has not had a bust-up with new boss Unai Emery.
Reports of a fall-out between the pair surfaced after Ozil was omitted from the squad for last month's 3-1 win over West Ham, despite Emery's claim that the German was ill.
And Monreal insists talk of issues between Emery and Arsenal's highest paid player Ozil are nothing more than a fabrication.
"People have been a bit unfair with him," Monreal said ahead of Spain's UEFA Nations League opener against England on Friday.
"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 has been forced to endure criticism about his body language and demeanour for much of his Arsenal career but Monreal says the former Real Madrid man is simply laid back by nature.
"People must understand that every player is completely different," Monreal 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."
