Emery on why Ozil is nearing the exit door
Unai Emery has said the decision to omit Mesut Ozil from the Arsenal team is part of an agreed strategy which has been discussed with the club’s executives.
Ozil’s lack of game time has been a recurring theme during Arsenal’s season, with the German playmaker featuring in only one Premier League match this campaign.
There were chants in support of Ozil during Thursday’s Europa League victory over Vitoria Guimaraes, with some Arsenal fans vocalising their criticism of Emery for not selecting the German in a team who struggled for large spells of the match.
Emery has been increasingly reluctant to discuss the Ozil situation, telling reporters on Thursday night that it was “not the day to speak about that”.
He has now revealed, though, that he has the support of the Arsenal hierarchy in his approach to the German, whose £350,000-a-week contract makes him Arsenal’s highest earner.
Asked if he faced any pressure from the Arsenal hierarchy to select Ozil, Emery said: “Here we have one agreed strategy as a club and a team. Because the most important thing is the club, the team and finding a performance.
“Previously we were all speaking between us to take that decision. I know all the supporters want to know something [more] but now is not the moment.”
Ozil’s only Premier League appearance this season came on Sept 15, when he started Arsenal’s chaotic 2-2 draw with Watford. He also started against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup, but has since been omitted from five consecutive matchday squads.
Ozil’s exile comes after he revealed in an interview that he has no intention of leaving the club before the end of his contract in 2021. The 31-year-old signed his latest deal in January 2018, when Ivan Gazidis was the chief executive and Arsene Wenger the manager.
“When I signed the new deal, I thought about it very carefully and said it was one of the most important decisions of my footballing career,” Ozil told The Athletic. “I didn’t want to stay for just one or two more years, I wanted to commit my future to Arsenal and the club wanted me to do the same.
“You can go through difficult times, like this, but that is no reason to run away and I’m not going to. I’m here until at least 2021.”
Arsenal host Crystal Palace today with questions over the balance of their midfield. Emery chose to use Lucas Torreira as a more advanced midfielder in the second half against Vitoria and has said the Uruguayan has the intelligence to find space around the opposition penalty area.
This time last year Torreira was being hailed as one of Arsenal’s best signings in years after a series of steely performances in deeper-lying midfield role. He has started only two Premier League matches this season, though, as Matteo Guendouzi has become one of Arsenal’s most consistently impressive performances alongside captain Granit Xhaka.
“He is playing,” Emery said of Torreira. “I think he is very important for us. We are sharing and changing some matches with the midfielders like Guendouzi.
“I am very happy with him and we need him. Then we use different structures in different matches and he has confidence. I was speaking with him about his best position to help us in our shape.
“It depends on the shape. Last season his best position was playing as a deep midfield two alongside Xhaka or Matteo. This year we are playing also sometimes with just one and he can achieve with his quality to get to the box and get closer to score. He is very intelligent about getting space around the box and taking chances.
“Then also, when we prepare the team to do high pressing, for us he is very important because he is very intelligent tactically, but he can play in the two positions. [Either as] one of the two midfielders [or] he can play higher for the pressing and to get into the box.
“Sometimes we also use him as a one man in midfield doing the covering for the two other players ahead.”
Palace will overtake Arsenal in the league table if they produce a performance similar to their impressive 3-2 victory at the Emirates last season. The defeat proved to be arguably the most damaging result of Arsenal’s campaign as they missed out on a place in the top four by a single point.