Unai Emery explains the decision behind leaving Mesut Ozil out of the squad against Tottenham Hotspur.
Mesut Ozil has started only one game for the Gunners in the last one month. The German International’s future has always been brought into the equation when his name is not getting featured in the starting eleven. However, he was not even named in the squad against Tottenham Hotspur which ended in a 2-0 defeat at the Emirates in the League Cup Quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Going twenty-two games without a loss, the Spaniard has now faced two defeats in successive games against Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur. Speaking in the post-match press conference, the Arsenal boss said that Mesut Ozil was dropped because of tactical decisions, and nothing more.
“It’s a tactical decision, I thought the players with us were the best for this match. I’m thinking every player we have 24, 25 players, when they are playing in one [game], or they are not playing in another, for me the decision is tactical.”
“My focus now is analysing this match and also Saturday against Burnley, which is very important. Also tomorrow we are training with every player, hopefully they can all train for a difficult game against Burnley.”
In addition, Emery said that every player in the squad will have an integral part to play this season. Thus, downplaying any sorts of a rift between him and the former Real Madrid player.
“I’m thinking about the match Saturday and not about another situation. ‘Every player, they are important. One I decided didn’t play, only a tactical decision.”
The Arsenal midfielder is claimed to be addicted to the popular video game Fortnite. He was ruled out due to the reported back spasm for the Premier League fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, and Huddersfield Town.
According to the statistical portal “wasted on fortnite”, Ozil’s game account has played around 5221 minutes at last count. At the average rate of the game takes roughly 20 minutes which means he has played 104,420 minutes, equating to 1740 hours or 72 days.
The 30-year-old made his comeback against Qarabag in a 1-0 win last Thursday. Unai Emery was asked in the pre-match press conference if his back problem were a consequence of playing fortnite before Arsenal played the Azerbaijan club.
“I don’t know. Tomorrow he is in the group, the 18 players for this match and we are going to decide if he plays from the beginning or during the 90 minutes.”
The 30-year-old had a really good spell between the game against Cardiff and Leicester. But, his form has dipped in the last few weeks which has forced Unai Emery to make some tactical decisions. Besides, his back injury has frustrated the Spaniard who is keen on getting results to mount a top-four challenge.
The Gunners are currently three points adrift of the fourth-placed side Chelsea in the Premier League table. Despite bowing out of the League Cup and the Premier League title looking like a distant dream, they have a chance to land a silverware by lifting the Europa League or the FA Cup.
Arsenal will now invite Burnley to the Emirates on Saturday as they strive to pull things back and go smoothly during the festive period.
