Unai Emery makes shocking statement about Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has insisted that he is very much 'happy' with Arsenal outcast Mesut Ozil and has suggested that he could recall the World Cup winner back to the first team. Emery is happy with the German, as he picked up his performance in training and is willing to give the star more chances in the upcoming days.

The play-maker has struggled for playing time this season, as he has been plagued by various problems. He has so far made just two appearances for the Gunners this campaign, but Emery has not ‘closed’ the door on the German’s future. 

The £350,000-a-week earning midfielder has been criticized severely for his lack of returns in recent seasons, especially since he signed the new mega-money contract. It seemed that the former Real Madrid wizard was out of Emery's plans, but the Spaniard himself has quashed these claims

The German also broke his silence on Thursday. The 31-year-old hit back at his critics and insisted that he wants to finish his current deal with the Gunners, which runs till the summer of 2021. The play-maker stated that he is frustrated becoming a scapegoat every time Arsenal fails to deliver. 

Things have not gone well for the former Schalke man at all in recent months. Ahead of the season, he along with his team-mate Sead Kolasinac were attacked by armed thugs. Thankfully, they were not harmed thanks to the heroics of Kolasinac. 

The play-maker has since recovered mentally and physically but has been left out of the past three match-day squads by Unai Emery. The manager, however, insisted that Ozil is still in his plans for the club. 

“This year started difficult for him. He worked well in pre-season and he was playing in the games. But then the problem he had along with Sead stopped him. After that, he was sick for one week and then he lost a lot of training to keep his fitness. But in the last two to three weeks he has improved with us in training and I think it is good,” Emery said. 

The former PSG and Sevilla boss added that he never wanted to stop the German from playing, but was just waiting for him to be ready once again. Emery suggested that Ozil has been always part of his plans and there is “no-hate” between them, with the ex-German international being utilized soon. 

He further concluded the interview by saying, “My idea is to use every player and he is one. The player can help us. He has very big skills and one quality we will need in the next matches. Really I am happy now how he is improving and training every day. He is one player more in that squad.” 

Arsenal are set to undergo a tricky test of congested fixtures with seven games in 19 days and will want to take back maximum points from these matches. Further, Ozil will surely be required during that time period, as Emery looks to rotate his squad and maintain the right balance. 

The north London giants are at present in fifth place in the Premier League table, with 15 points from eight games and still have a match in hand. They still have the chance to win multiple titles this season and hopeful that the team can deliver. 

These congested set of fixtures will be Ozil’s big chance to prove his point to the manager and once and for all, silence his critics. Arsenal will be facing off against Liverpool in the EFL Cup on the 31st of October and that will be one of the biggest games of the month for them, for sure. 

Cover image credits: Sky Sports