Arsenal boss Unai Emery explained his decision to leave Mesut Ozil out of his squad for their clash with Man Utd on Monday night.
Along with Kieran Tierney, the German playmaker wasn’t included in the match day squad for the encounter at Old Trafford, raising eyebrows over his omission.
SEE MORE: Video: Aubameyang equalises for Arsenal v Man Utd after horrendous Tuanzebe error
Perhaps it was merely an innocent and straight-forward response, but Emery wasn’t particularly forthcoming with his reasoning behind the decision and simply insisted that Ozil didn’t figure in his plans to put the best possible side out for this particular fixture.
“He is not right. I decided that this is the XI and that’s it,” he is quoted as telling Sky Sports, by The Mirror.
After falling behind just before half-time through Scott McTominay’s strike, the Gunners were able to secure a share of the spoils in the second half as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored just before the hour mark.
In turn, they seemed to cope well enough without Ozil in the side, or in fact even as an option off the bench, and given he has failed to deliver in big games on a consistent basis in the past, it seems like the sensible decision from Emery.
Nevertheless, his side also lacked creativity in the final third for the most part on Monday, and so perhaps against a United defence that has been leaking goals, the Spanish tactician could have shown more adventure with his line-up.
That said, taking a point back to north London after a showdown with Man Utd at Old Trafford under the lights perhaps isn’t the worst result in the world.
