Premier League: Arsenal legend leaps to Mesut Ozil's defence
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson believes the criticism flowing in the direction of Gunners midfielder Mesut Ozil is not justified, despite his disappointing performances in the recent defeats at Everton and Manchester City.
Ozil is often accused to failing to influence big matches and he turned in a couple of uninspiring displays as Arsenal’s title challenge took a huge hit with successive defeats that have deflated the club’s supporters once again.
With German international Ozil currently in negotiations over a new Arsenal contract, the debate over his value to the team has been rumbling for several weeks, with Sky Sports pundit Merson offering a glowing endorsement of his talents.
“I don’t care what the stats say and whether he is high in the passing lists or the assists lists, but I look at Ozil and I think he is a great player,” Merson told Yahoo Sport.
“Stats are over-rated in my view because you only need one pass or one big of brilliance to change a game and Ozil can deliver that.
“I’m a big fan of Ozil, even though I accept the criticism that he needs to turn up in the big games a little bit more often. I think he is top drawer. You pay a lot of money and you get that kind of quality.
“His wavelength is a step ahead of the others in that Arsenal team. He is on medium wave and a lot of the other players are still tuned into some crackling, dodgy pirate radio station. That is a problem, but watch Arsenal player and quickly you realise that only two players are on the same wavelength.
“When Ozil gets the ball, he looks for Alexis Sanchez and that works the other way as well. They know that they are on the same level and it stands out a mile sometimes.”
Merson suggests he empathises with Ozil when he accused of failing to show commitment to the Arsenal cause, with his languid style not dissimilar to his own laid back approach during his days with the Gunners.
“The problem with Ozil is he fizzles out of games and his body language makes it look like he doesn’t care at times,” added Merson.
“He is not one of those players who runs around everywhere and stands out for his effort, but he cares, no doubt about that in my mind and I remember getting the same kind of criticism as he is getting now when I was playing.
“If I was having a bad game, I couldn’t get out of it by giving someone a crunching tackle and covering up the fact that you are having a mare
“That wasn’t my game and Ozil is a bit like that to an extent. Some players get away with it by running around and waving their arms to cheer the crowd up, but you need more than that at the top level and Ozil has everything you want to see in a top, top player.”
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