Former Chelsea centre-forward Eidur Gudjohnson has criticised Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil for his reaction to being substituted in the Europa League final.
The Blues ran out 4-1 winners in Baku’s Olympic Stadium on Wednesday night, thanks to an Eden Hazard brace and goals from Olivier Giroud and Pedro.
Alex Iwobi grabbed a consolation for the Gunners, but they were second best and ultimately squandered their chance to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Ozil started the game and failed to have any impact on the pitch for Unai Emery’s side, which led to his substitution in the 75th minute.
The German invited more criticism by trudging off the pitch at a snail’s pace, which Gudjohnson believes was an arrogant attempt to get a standing ovation from supporters.
The ex-Chelsea striker slammed Ozil for his behaviour post-match while working as a pundit for BT Sport, claiming he would have felt “embarrassed” if he’d ever done anything like that on the pitch.
As per Metro Sport, Gudjohnson stated: “The one thing is you tell me if you’re the manager of Arsenal… you’re 4-1 down in the final you take Ozil off and he’s walking at the slowest pace like he’s waiting for a standing ovation.
“I’m sorry if that’s me I’d feel embarrassed, head down and I sprint off the pitch.
“He’s a wonderful player, tremendous quality but as a manager, I could never watch that in my team.”
Ozil has divided the Arsenal fanbase since his 2013 switch from Real Madrid, failing to deliver the goods on a consistent basis while cutting a lethargic and seemingly uninterested figure in the team.
The 30-year-old is one of the best passers in European football and technically brilliant on the ball, but he goes missing far too frequently on the bigger occasions.
That fact was underlined once again in the continental final and calls for him to leave Emirates Stadium will be louder than ever after his latest display.
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) May 29, 2019
Amid ongoing speculation over his future, Ozil insisted at the start of May he will see out the remaining two years on his contract – as per The Guardian – but it might already be time for him to consider moving on to a new challenge.
