Mesut Ozil’s message for boss
MIDFIELDER PUSHING TO PLAY AGAINST CHAMPIONS FOR HIS FIRST MINUTES OF FOOTBALL SINCE SHUTDOWN
Arsenal star declares he’s ready to play against Liverpool tonight
MESUT OZIL is pushing to play his first minutes since football returned last month, when Arsenal host champions Liverpool tonight.
Ozil, who has one year to run on his £350,000-a-week contract, has not played since the Premier League’s resumption and has been troubled by a sore back.
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta, however, confirmed to Standard Sport yesterday lunchtime that the midfielder was ready to train and he later took part in a group session.
Upon its completion, Ozil posted a message on his Twitter account which simply read: “I AM READY.”
The German has been troubled by the back problem for weeks, but asked by Standard Sport if a specialist may need to be involved, Arteta replied: “I think it will be managed internally.”
While Ozil has struggled for minutes since the return, Arteta has previously suggested the 31-year-old could still force his way back into his plans.
“Sometimes we have to field the players we have available in the right
moments, in the right positions, to perform and be comfortable to do what we require,” Arteta said last month. “There is always a place for a player of his quality.”
Arsenal go into tonight’s match ninth in the Premier League and 43 points behind the Reds. The Gunners are on course for their worst League finish since 1995 and Arteta has urged the club to spend as he begins his rebuild.
The Spaniard, however, has also called for a patient approach, with Liverpool’s resurgence under Jurgen Klopp acting as template. The German has transformed the Reds into Champions League and Premier League winners, but that was done over a four-and-halfyear period, with key players Alisson, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk signed in different transfer windows.
“At the end of the day, everything that comes through our door has to be top, top quality,” said Arteta. “Those are the demands of this club and it cannot be any different. If we have to wait for the right player in order to do that, let’s wait.”
Arteta’s transfer budget this summer is still yet to be determined, with qualification for the Europa League a key factor.
Arsenal currently have two routes into the competition, either by winning the FA Cup (they play Manchester City in the semi-finals on Saturday) or finishing in the top seven (they are currently four points off Sheffield United).
In the longer term, Arteta still views Arsenal as a Champions League club but believes a financial risk may have to be taken to return to it. “At some stage you have to make a decision, whether I want to aim to make that gap closer and go for it, or I stay where I am,” he said.