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Tag: Mesut Ozil

  • Ozil to decide his future with Arsenal – Emery

    Arsenal manager Unai Emery says “the key is in Mesut Ozil’s hands” as the midfielder tries to regain his first-team place.

    Ozil, 30, is the Gunners’ highest-paid player, having signed a £350,000-a-week contract in 2018, but has started only 13 of 26 league games this season.

    “He needs to be consistent in training and for matches, without injury or being sick,” Emery said.

    “Like that, we can see the best Mesut with us.”

    Ozil has played 216 times for Arsenal since joining from Real Madrid for a then club-record £42m in 2013.

    But he has started only one game since Boxing Day, with injuries and “tactical reasons” given as explanations for the German’s absence during the campaign.

    Last month, Emery defended his decision to leave Ozil out of the starting line-up and in December said the midfielder still has a future at the club.

  • Transfer news: Emery set to replace Ozil with James Rodriguez

    Arsenal manager, Unai Emery, is reportedly targeting a move for Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez to replace Mesut Ozil.

    Rodriguez has spent the last 18 months on loan at Bayern Munich and his future beyond the summer is uncertain, as he has struggled to hold down a spot this season.

    And Arsenal could take advantage and take over the loan deal for the remainder of the campaign, at a cost of £3million, according to the Daily Mail.

    Bayern paid £11.5m for the two-year loan and have the option to buy Rodriguez for £39.5m this summer.

    Emery’s interest in Rodriguez, comes amid speculations that he is willing to sanction Mesut Ozil’s exit this month.

    Ozil has fallen out of favour this season under Emery and was left out of the Gunners’ squad for Saturday’s loss to West Ham.

    And it is understood that the manager has lost faith in his playmaker and wants him out before the end of January.

  • EPL: Ozil no longer fit for Arsenal team – Emery

    Arsenal manager Unai Emery has suggested Mesut Ozil is no longer fit for his team as he sat out Saturday’s Premier League defeat at West Ham.

    Ozil, returned to full training over the last week following a knee problem, but was left out of Emery’s travelling party completely as Declan Rice’s first senior goal sealed a 1-0 victory for West Ham at the London Stadium.

    The German has missed a number of games this season, with differing reasons given for his absence. A 2-1 win at Bournemouth in November was the only time Emery conceded the former Germany international was left out for tactical reasons.

    The Arsenal head coach stuck with the side which beat Fulham in their last Premier League outing, but the visitors were poor as they failed to find the back of the net in a league game for the first time since the opening weekend of the campaign.

    But when pushed over why he opted to leave Ozil at home for the short trip to east London, Emery claimed all of those players who did make the trip deserved to be there.

    “I decided the idea of the players that I think are the best for this match,” he said.

    “We win with him, we lose with him. I think it is not one player [which means] we can’t win or lose.

    “Today the players who were here are the players who deserved to be in this match. We could’ve won or lost.

    “We continue working with every player because they are all important, but today the decision was to come with these players.”

  • Klopp defends Ozil over criticism for Erdogan photo

    Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has defended German compatriot Mesut Ozil, saying the criticism the Arsenal midfielder received for being photographed with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was due to “absolute misinformation” and “complete nonsense.”

    Ozil also came under fire for his performance at the World Cup in Russia, where the defending champions crashed out in the group stage, as the 29-year-old quit international soccer last month over “racism and disrespect,” due to his Turkish roots.

    “This is a classic example of absolute misinformation and, of course, complete nonsense,” Klopp told German television channel Sport1.

    “In politics, little things have always been blown up and big things pushed away in order to continue.

    “Normally, intelligent people tend to hold back because it is not easy to say the right thing. I would count myself too. All those who have no idea are loud in these conversations.”

    Ozil and international team mate Ilkay Gundogan, who is also of Turkish descent and posed with Erdogan, were subjected to jeers from German fans in warm-up games before the World Cup.

    “I don’t doubt these guys, at least about their loyalty to our homeland. The difference is that they have one more thing (in their heritage)… that’s beautiful,” Klopp, who coached Manchester City’s Gundogan at their former club Borussia Dortmund, added.

    “Cultural diversity, we all thought it was cool around the (Germany-hosted) 2006 World Cup… now two guys are seduced by politically intelligent people to have a photo, and then have relatively few opportunities to say what they want 100 per cent right.

    “That’s why I find this discussion hypocritical. Bad things happened because people were not informed properly.

    “Even the media should not create a buzz around something like this every day. Just cool off and see the people behind it.”

    Reuters/NAN

  • Emery warns Ozil, insists every player must defend for Arsenal

    Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has warned Mesut Ozil he must help his team-mates to defend as he calls for commitment from all of his players.

    The Gunners travel to Chelsea on Saturday evening on the back of a 2-0 home defeat to reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in Emery’s first game in charge.

    The Spaniard has called for full commitment ahead of Saturday’s trip to Chelsea and insists Ozil, who has been criticised in the past for a perceived lack of effort at times, will be expected to give his all when defending for the team.

    When asked about the defensive duties placed on Ozil during the defeat to City, Emery replied: “Every player needs to defend in the true moment of a match.

    “There are defensive moments and attacking moments. Every player each needs this commitment. For me, we need to start together, whether we are attacking or defending. I want that from every player.

    “The position Ozil is playing all his career like a number 10-player, like a right-winger going inside to receive the ball.

    “It’s clear he needs the ball more to give more options in the attacking moments. He needs to do it in each match, be demanding for us but defensive moments are for each and every player.”

    Emery opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation against City but has hinted his preferred system could change as the season progresses.

    “It depends on the performance and if the performance is good,” said the Spaniard.

    “I want to give them the chances in each match and maybe we need a lot of matches for the chances for every player but we started with the pre-season and every player is playing for chances and minutes and with all the competitions.

    “We only play Sunday, Sunday, Sunday but in September we will start playing Sunday and Thursday and also we are going to play more matches and I think every player will get chances to show us his performance for the team.”

  • Racist attitude shown towards Ozil not acceptable – Erdogan

    Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given his support to Mesut Ozil and says the “racist attitude” shown towards the player is not acceptable.

    The 29-year-old Arsenal midfielder was criticised after being photographed with Erdogan at a London event in May.

    Ozil quit the Germany national team, saying he has faced “racism and disrespect” over his Turkish roots.

    The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) also offered its “full support to Mesut Ozil and his family”.

    The TFF said in a statement: “We condemn the treatment, threats and derogatory messages that Ozil has received because of his heritage and background.

    “Every player, no matter whether they are in the public eye or not, has a right to be protected from abuse, discrimination and messages expressing hate.”

    Erdogan added: “On Monday night I spoke to Mesut. His attitude in the statement is completely patriotic.

    “It is not possible to accept this kind of racist attitude towards a young man who poured so much sweat for the German national team’s success. This cannot be tolerated.”

    In a lengthy statement released on Monday, Ozil said he received hate mail and threats and was being blamed for Germany’s disappointing group-stage exit at the World Cup.

    The third-generation Turkish-German was born in Gelsenkirchen and was a key member of his country’s 2014 World Cup-winning side.

    He has 92 caps and has been voted the national team’s player of the year five times since 2011 by fans.

    “I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose,” Ozil said. “I used to wear the German shirt with such pride and excitement, but now I don’t.”

    BBC

  • Mesut Ozil confirmed as Arsenal’s No.10

    German international, Mesut Ozil has taken the shirt number 10 vacated by Jack Wilshere, who exited the club after being told that he did not have a future at the Emirates Stadium.

    Ozil has been ever-present for the Gunners since his move to the club from Real Madrid in 2013, making almost 200 appearances for the club.

    In that time, the playmaker has scored 37 goals and provided 71 assists, with the Gunners winning three FA Cups and the Community Shield during his spell in north London.

    Supporters who have already purchased 2018/19 season shirts with ‘Ozil 11’ printed on the back will receive replacement shirts, per the club.

    Ozil was involved in Germany’s horrendous 2018 World Cup campaign, the defending champions losing to both Mexico and South Korea and crashing out at the group stages.

    It remains to be seen how he will be utilised under new Arsenal manager Unai Emery, having been a key lieutenant under Arsene Wenger.

    Indeed, Ozil signed a new contract in January, extending his stay at the club until 2021.

    Reports at the time indicated that the star subsequently became Arsenal’s highest-paid player, earning £350,000-per-week.

    Arsenal finished sixth in 2017-18, 12 points behind fourth-placed Liverpool and 37 behind eventual champions Manchester City.

    Emery has already taken steps to reshape the club in his own image, signing defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €19 million (£16.7m/$22.4m), goalkeeper Bernd Leno from Bayer Leverkusen and Stephan Lichtsteiner on a free transfer.

  • Neuer doubtful for weekend, Ozil plays down World Cup fitness fears

    Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is facing a setback in his hopes of proving his fitness for the World Cup, Bild newspaper reported on Monday, while midfielder Mesut Ozil played down speculation about his back injury.

    Bayern Munich stopper Neuer, out since September, had wanted to make his comeback from a broken foot in Saturday’s final Bundesliga game of the season at home to VfB Stuttgart.

    However, Bild reported club sources as saying his return against Stuttgart is “more than questionable.”

    Germany coach Joachim Loew will announce his preliminary World Cup squad on May 15.

    Even if Neuer does not face Stuttgart, the World Cup winner is still expected to be included.

    “There is no deadline when he has to play by,” Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff said recently. “The true deadline is June 4 when the final 23-man squad must be named.”

    Bayern face Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Cup final on May 19 while Neuer may also have chance to play in two Germany World Cup warm-ups against Austria on June 2 and Saudi Arabia on June 8.

    The World Cup in Russia begins on June 14 with Germany’s first group game against Mexico on June 17.

    Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen will replace Neuer if he is not deemed fit. Bayer Leverkusen’s Bernd Leno will also be in the squad but the name of a potential third keeper is not certain given Kevin Trapp has not played regularly for Paris St-Germain.

    Sven Ulreich, who has deputized for Neuer at Bayern, has also been mentioned as a candidate by Loew but he made a huge error in last week’s Champions League semi-final defeat by Real Madrid.

    Midfielder Ozil missed Arsenal’s 5-0 Premier League win over Burnley on Sunday.

    “It is a recurrence of his back problem,” outgoing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told reporters. “How long is he out? I don’t know. I don’t think he’ll be available for the rest of the season.”

    But Ozil posted on Instagram to say the issue was not a big worry.

    “It is a pity I missed yesterday’s match with my back injury. It’ll need some time but I’m sure I’ll fully recover in time for the World Cup,” he said.

    Germany have already lost Borussia Moenchengladbach forward Lars Stindl for the World Cup through injury and Hoffenheim duo Serge Gnabry and Kerem Demirbay look set to miss out with fitness problems.

    dpa