OZIL’S NOT PAST IT ... HE’S PASSED IT

Wenger: Ignore his languid style.. stats prove that Mesut is vital to the Gunners

ARSENE WENGER has urged Mesut Ozil’s critics to ignore his style and pay attention to the stats.

The Arsenal playmaker has been under scrutiny again after a string of underwhelming performances.

The World Cup winner’s languid style and body language, which at times makes him look disinterested, do not help him when the hunt is on for Arsenal scapegoats.

But Wenger reckons with Ozil (top) it is a case of looks being deceiving. Latest figures from Premier League partners EA Sports lend some support to the manager’s claims.

They reveal Ozil has still been making an impact, having completed more passes in the opposition half than any other player in the division, overtaking Manchester United’s Paul Pogba, whom he will face tomorrow – and another player accused of failing to influence the big games.

Wenger said: “His style is more fluid, less aggressive but it doesn’t mean you want it less than others.

“His style is his style and what you measure with Mesut Ozil is the efficiency. His basic quality is retention and the creation of goal chances. Overall the big players get criticised more than the others, they have to carry the responsibility of the team.”

Though Wenger did admit he gets frustrated at times over Ozil’s failure to hit the heights he knows the Germany star is capable of.

“You want all your players to be at their best in every game so when they don’t achieve that of course you are frustrated,” Wenger said. “But we are only human beings and you have to accept the ups and downs.”

Ozil revealed in his recently-published autobiography Jose Mourinho’s brand of tough love helped get the best out of him at Real Madrid. Wenger said: “Yes, he needs that. We had some good conversations with him as well. I felt after the Bayern game he suffered for a few games. After that he came back with some good performances.

“He fought hard in recent games and we looked at his physical performance and they were at a very high level.

“But like the rest of the team against Tottenham, we were below what we had produced recently.

“I believe to just criticise his performance does not reflect exactly what happened. Recently he has put a lot of effort in.

“He was not, like the rest of the team, physically at his best.

“I felt we gave a lot on Sunday and Wednesday against Leicester and had not completely recovered. And he was one of them.”

Ozil’s dip in form has come at a bad time as he tries to justify his £300,000-a-week new contract demands.

And especially as he doesn’t have a queue of clubs rushing to sign him.

Asked if Arsenal have had any approaches for Ozil, whose contract runs out next summer, Wenger said: “No. Not officially, I mean.”