Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger praises ‘fighter’ Mesut Ozil after outstanding performance against Huddersfield
German World Cup winner provided two assists and scored but Wenger was quick to point out his tracking back and help in defence
MESUT OZIL is finally feeling the Arsenal love after showing that he can roll his sleeves up and fight for the cause.
The German playmaker ripped Huddersfield apart with a devastating Emirates master class last night.
But boss Arsene Wenger was most pleased with Ozil’s willingness to chase back and put a foot into the tackle after being accused of going missing too easily in the past.
Wenger said: “Everybody knows that Mesut is a great football player but in the last two games against Spurs and again tonight he has added something that people want to see and shown that he can fight and win the ball back.
“Once the supporters see you doing that then they automatically get behind you.
“How have I convinced him to do that? My job is to encourage people to fight.
“He has always covered the distances but maybe now he is at an age where he understands what is more and what is less important.
“I don’t know if the criticism has hurt him in the past and the judgements are sometimes harsh in this job.
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“But overall the majority here have always loved him because he is always available and he always wants the ball.
“He never hides behind other players but of course there are nine other players in the team and if you are dominated it is not all down to one player."
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Yet Wenger was not totally satisfied with his team’s biggest win of the season and said: “We lost our urgency and played with a bit of fear at 1-0.
“The pass didn’t come early enough, we were inhibited and we gave them one or two chances.
“But once we scored our second goal we played with freedom, drive and creativity. Our link play was fantastic to watch in the last 20 minutes.
Huddersfield boss David Wagner insisted: “If anyone is surprised that we lost away to Arsenal then their expectations are not right.
“Nothing worries me that we lost to Manchester City and to Arsenal in the space of three days. They are two results that can happen if you are Huddersfield Town.
“But we are still in a position that is absolutely acceptable for us. We are anything but nervous and I am very confident that we have everything we need to stay in this division.”