As quoted by Football.London, Mikel Arteta has laid down a major challenge to Mesut Ozil over his performances under his management.
What did he say?
The former Germany international was on the peripheries of the action whilst Unai Emery was in charge, making just 24 appearances in the Premier League last season. But since the Spaniard’s departure, Ozil has featured more prominently, and has started every game barring the one away at Everton.
And in his programme notes ahead of the derby clash against Chelsea, Arteta laid down a marker to Ozil about what he expects from him going forward.
Watch Arsenal Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
He said: “I can say since the day that I arrived back at London Colney, Mesut’s attitude and professionalism has been incredible and his performance against Bournemouth was another really big positive from the match. When we carried out our pre-match preparations and were watching Bournemouth and where we could hurt them, we believed that Mesut could be a key player.
“He responded, did what he had to do, and we could’ve scored two or three goals because of him. Now he has to maintain those standards.”
Statement
When Ozil is fully fit and firing, there is no doubting he can be a major influence on this Arsenal side. Just look back at his stats from the 2015/2016 campaign where he registered a quite incredible 19 assists in the Premier League alone. The question now is whether Arteta can be the man to inspire the German to those heady heights again.
Can you get full marks on the Ultimate Arsenal Quiz? Test your knowledge below…
And on the basis of his performance against Chelsea, Ozil certainly responded to his manager’s demands. He provided two key passes, two accurate crosses and also won six total duels too. Whilst the score-line didn’t reflect it, the play-maker certainly enjoyed a good game. Now, as Arteta suggests, it is up to the midfielder to keep maintaining those standards.
Meanwhile, Arsenal could face major problems in the transfer market due to this one main issue.
