Mesut Ozil was given a massive pay rise by Arsenal to extend his contract with the Gunners last season, but very few of our fans thought that he had a big influence on games and he was accused of going missing in big games, which Arsenal invariably ended up losing.
He last played for us against Atletico Madrid when we lost in the Europa League semi-final and he again was anonymous, but then we were told that he had been carrying around a back injury for some time. He returned to join the Germany team for the World Cup preparations and got injured again in a friendly but he was still looking lazy and lacklustre in training sessions and again has been criticized by the German press.
Coacch Joachim Loew has now announced the Arsenal midfielders fitness, but is still unsure whether he will play against Mexico. He said: “Mesut Özil this week completed two additional training sessions and can play but I will discuss the final line-up with the team this evening. There are two, three ideas in my head for the line-up.”
But Ozil’s team-mate Julian Draxler has no doubt’s that the Arsenal man will turn up when needed, despite the criticism. “All the noise about Mesut [Ozil] being subdued and not up to his best is not true and has been way over the top,” Draxler said. “The debate about his body language has been raging for a couple of years but he is an exceptional player.
“He has technical abilities that are unparalleled. He’s probably our most creative player. He will be there when we need him and he will deliver.”