The Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has been nominated for the shortlist for the PFA Player-Of-The-Year, but was strangely left out of the Team of the Year, but the German has come out and said he is not interested in personal accolades unless the team wins trophies.
Obviously, despite Ozil having his best season yet in an Arsenal shirt, he will definitely not be getting any trophies this season. He was asked in an interview on Arsenal.com whether he spent a lot of time analysing his performances after the matches, and he replied: “To be honest, I don’t really watch my games back that often. I’ve been in professional football for 11 years and I think it’s important to look forward rather than back. Otherwise it’s hard to move on. If I don’t have a good game, if I come out of one having not created any chances, of course I’m annoyed with myself.
“But I honestly don’t pay that much attention to the numbers. You become aware of some things, like being close to breaking the assist record, but I don’t play the game to smash records. I know what I can do and I know that I’m one of the best assist makers in the world. But it’s all about titles for me. If I have a great season but we don’t win anything, what does it bring me?
“I just try to realise my potential in every game. Of course sometimes that doesn’t happen but in general, this season I’ve done that. There’s still a long way to go this season and I hope that through my contribution, I can help us to finish it as successfully as possible.”
I don’t know when his interview was actually conducted, but it has only appeared on the official Arsenal website today, but I imagine it must have been at least a month ago judging by his statement. Let’s hope that he is not too upset that he didn’t add to his two FA Cup medals and is willing to stay at Arsenal. Maybe he will get a Premier League medal next season….