“He was just a ghost” Arsenal legend roasts star playmaker for no-show against Man City
Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has slammed the Gunners playmaker Mesut Ozil following his performance over the weekend.
The 29-year-old played the full 90 minutes during Arsenal’s defeat at the hands of Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side recorded a 3-1 victory over the Gunners on Sunday to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points.
Once again, Mesut Ozil was in the firing line of pundits following his sides weekend loss.
Club legend Petit has stated that manager Arsene Wenger should have taken Mesut Ozil off at half time. The former France international went onto call Ozil a ‘ghost‘ for failing to make an impact on the game.
“Arsene Wenger was honest after the game, acknowledging his opponents as the superior side,” Petit stated in his Paddy Power column.
“But in the first half, he was too shy. He was afraid of Manchester City and his team were passive as a result. I think more substitutions should have been made in the midfield area: Ozil was on the pitch, but he was just a ghost.
“Arsene said before the game on Sunday that Arsenal would come to the Etihad to attack. He wanted his team to score goals and not to defend, but in the first half he made some tactical errors that made this approach impossible.
“Firstly, it was wrong to put Francis Coquelin in central defence. Coquelin was booed by some fans midweek at home in the Europa League – he couldn’t have gone into this game with any degree of confidence. So it was a strange decision to start him in an unfamiliar position against the most dangerous attacking side in the league.
“To be fair to Arsene, he tried something different, but it was a mistake. Arsenal never really threatened City in the first period and he was forced to change his mind at half-time – which worked almost immediately.”
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Arsenal dropped down to sixth place following their defeat to Man City. The Gunners will be desperate to bounce back to winning ways when they take on their north London rivals Tottenham on November 18.
Ozil has been included in the Germany national team squad which takes on England on Friday night.
