Unai Emery on Ozil: Mesut Ozil has been largely confined to time on sidelines ever since he was benched against Bournemouth in November.
Arsenal returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday. With this win, they’ve closed the gap with Sarri’s side to three points.
However, the tense situation around Mesut Ozil continues within the club. Despite making it to the bench against Chelsea, Unai Emery didn’t bring him on to the pitch in the game.
Earlier, Ozil was not included in the squad against West Ham despite being not listed as injured. Emery’s decision to not include Ozil in the squad raised speculations over the midfielder’s future at Arsenal. Recently, former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho also advised Emery on how to treat Ozil.
However, Unai Emery has now broken silence over the former German international’s position at Arsenal at the moment.
Unai Emery on Ozil:
The Arsenal head coach stated that he’s happy with Ozil’s efforts off-the-pitch and that the side will need his quality in the upcoming games.
“Today he was OK to play but we decided not to play him,” Emery said after the game against Chelsea, as quoted by the Telegraph.
“I spoke with him. I wanted him to be ready for the match today and for the next matches with the spirit like all the players in the team.
“Today I have the confidence with him if he played. I think he could do like we wanted. The next matches we are going to need every player and also his quality.”
Considering that Arsenal will play Manchester United in the FA Cup game this weekend, Ozil’s inclusion could come as a boost for the Gunners’ fans.
Emery also commented on Aaron Ramsey’s situation and insisted that he respects the Welshman for his commitment towards playing for the club despite knowing that he will leave at the end of the season.
“The circumstance with Ramsey we spoke about three months ago, the decision is finished for him and the club,” Emery said.
“Now I am very, very happy with him because the last month his focus with us has been very clear. His future is very important for his family but for us it’s very important for him to be OK to play like he did today.
“Two weeks ago when we travelled to Blackpool in the FA Cup, when the match was more difficult for the atmosphere and the pitch is not good, he said to me ‘I want to play and help the team’.
“This is the spirit, to want to play. Today I didn’t need to ask him because I knew he wanted to play against Chelsea. He played with a good mentality and helped us with his quality.”
