Former Arsenal star Tomas Rosicky has defended Mesut Ozil. The former Germany international has endured a tough few months. First, he attracted controversy after posing for a picture with Turkey President Recep Erdogan before announcing his international retirement while accusing the DFB of racism. Many criticised Ozil for his manner of retirement.
The winger attracted more criticism after a poor start to the Premier League with many frequently questioning his work rate. However, he is gradually improving now. Ozil has scored in each of Arsenal’s previous two matches. He scored the winner against Newcastle last weekend before scoring in their Europa League opener on Thursday.
Tomas Rosicky played with Mesut Ozil for three years and has come out in the German’s defence. The former Arsenal star said, “I know Mesut very well. I played a lot of games with him. If you always see his stats, he is not the one who is not working. Obviously what the people maybe lack with him, mainly in England, is that he is not the one who is going into the tackles or something like that.
But if you see it in general – he is working hard. You can see his stats, what he has every game. Obviously I don’t know about this season [as I am not playing or training with him], but that’s what he used to be like and he was a hard worker – even in training. I know him.
You have to see things in perspective, he is someone who can decide the game by himself.”
Ozil will hope to give a strong performance when Arsenal play Everton today.
