The German playmaker Mesut Ozil has been in scintillating form for Arsenal this season, and Arsene Wenger is well aware exactly how important he is to the team so he has no intention of giving him a rest in any game at all. This is the same as Alexis Sanchez who ended up needing a six week break with his overworked hamstring.
Wenger thinks he won’t have the same problem with Ozil as he is getting over the problem by stopping Ozil from training between games. “I gave Mesut a one-week holiday during the international break,” Le Prof said on Arsenal.com. “At the moment he doesn’t practice a lot, we rest him a lot between the games.
“He is a guy who, once the basic fitness is there between the games, he wants to play. There are types of players, sometimes the most technical players, it looks like it demands less energy for them to play – it is just natural for them.
“Rotation is sensitive more in the centre of the team than on the flanks. If I play Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and then Joel Campbell, that is not really rotation, but in the heart of the team at centre back or central midfield it is more risky.
“You also look at the impact Ozil can have on other players. The Premier League is very tight and if you go into the decisive game and [rest Ozil or other key players], the other players think subconsciously ‘Why?’, and even the player himself.
We all know that Alexis also hated being dropped or rested no matter how tired he was, and we all know how that panned out. Do you think Wenger is risking the same thing by not giving Ozil a rest?