Mikel Arteta has defended his handling of the Mesut Ozil situation at Arsenal.
The Spanish coach has come under criticism from some sections of the Gunners’ fanbase this month after leaving Ozil out of both his Europa League and Premier League squad.
Prior to Thursday’s win over Dundalk, Arsenal had only scored four goals in their previous six games across all competitions, underlining the importance of a creative spark that the former Germany international might have provided if he were available.
The 32-year-old’s agent Dr Erkut Sogut hit out at Arteta last week and accused him of failing the former Real Madrid maestro.
But the 38-year-old, who has only been in senior management for 10 months, has reiterated that he did all he could for Ozil, while standing by the decision.
He told Sky Sports: “What I can tell you is that I tried my best, I tried to give him as many opportunities as I could. And that from my own side, I’ve been patient, given him opportunities and been fair.
“He’s a player that belongs to a football club, he’s been a really important player in the last few seasons. I have to respect that, I’m here to make decisions, the best decisions for the team and for the club.”
The bottom line is that if Ozil deserved to continue playing for Arsenal in Arteta’s eyes, he would still be playing.
This is a player whose work ethic and application has been called into question pretty regularly during his seven-year stint in North London.
And Arteta, unlike Arsene Wenger or Unai Emery, does not seem to tolerate it and for that he needs to be respected – and even applauded, when you consider what sort of profile Ozil has.
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