Nacho Monreal believes Mesut Ozil has such presence that our opponents are automatically more wary of us when he is on the pitch.
The World Cup winner has been in fine form of late as we have reached the Europa League quarter-finals and moved up to fourth in the Premier League.
"Mesut had some small problems and he missed a few games, but he’s with the team again and he’s fighting," Monreal said. "If you see him training or playing you can see that he’s completely committed to the team and that’s really good.
"He’s very important for us and he’s a top-quality player. He helps us a lot with assists and scoring goals.
"When the other teams see him on the pitch, they say, ‘Oh Mesut is here, we need to be careful’ so he’s an important player."
Monreal himself has been key to our recent upturn in form, and he is pleased with how things have gone for him personally as well as the team.
"This season has been a bit different for me because it’s been the first one when I’ve had a few injuries in a row and I’ve missed a lot of games," he said.
"I lost my form over the last few months, but now I’m back I’ve started to feel better again. The team is happy and lucky to have two left backs who try to help the team.
"I’m really happy with my past performances, but as I’ve said, I just try to give my best every single day, every single training session and every game. I try to help and I’m happy doing that."
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