Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has defended Mesut Ozil from criticism after the German international’s poor performances over the past week or so.
The creative playmaker was largely anonymous in losses to Everton and Manchester City, with the Gunners suffering hammer blows to their Premier League title hopes in both games.
While he failed to have an influence on proceedings from an attacking point of view, the 28-year-old can be considered a liability from a defensive perspective given his lack of energy and pressing off the ball.
It all adds to why many expect Arsenal to ‘bottle it’ as they do every year, as there was a real lack of fight and tenacity about them in the last two performances.
However, at a time when supporters are certainly starting to get more and more vocal with their frustration, Wenger has come out and publicly defended his star man from criticism as he continues to show unwavering support in him.
“He works much harder than people think and his body language sometimes goes against him. He does his part very well,” he told the media at his press conference on Friday, as seen in the tweet below.
? “He works much harder than people think and his body language sometimes goes against him. He does his part very well.”#AFCvWBA pic.twitter.com/6mXfhiprLl
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) December 23, 2016
As noted by The Sun this week, speculation has suggested that Arsenal are considering their options with Ozil and Alexis Sanchez seeing their current deals expire in 2018, with reports that they are demanding in excess of £200,000-a-week to commit their futures.
There is no denying that Ozil possesses world-class ability, but there is a very legitimate argument against him deserving such a contract.
With a tendency to go missing in the big games since his arrival in England, and an inability to drag Arsenal to the Premier League title, he isn’t the type of player who should be in that bracket. While the chances are that he probably will be given a big-money deal seeing how Wenger thinks of him, he’ll have to improve quickly to get supporters off his back this season.