Former England international Tony Cottee has lept at the defence of Arsenal star playmaker Mesut Ozil.
As most Gunners fans will know, Ozil constantly finds himself under fire from pundits whenever Arsenal drop points.
However, Cottee believes Ozil is ‘easy prey’ for Arsenal’s critics and stated that people easily forget the chances he creates for his teammates.
The former West Ham and Everton striker also believes Ozil will become a leading figure at Arsenal following Alexis Sanchez’s move to rivals Man United.
“I think he is,” Cottee told SkySports.
“Perhaps Ozil needed Sanchez to move on. There’s no doubt Sanchez was that main figure for Arsenal and I think, now he’s gone, Ozil will step up to the plate.
“He’s been given a new contract as well, which is a huge boost for him. I thought he was going to leave at the end of the season.
“He’s such a tremendous player and I think he’s easy prey if things aren’t going so well. If Arsenal are losing games, it’s ‘Ozil’s not working hard enough’. I think we forget all the assists and all the goals he scores.
“He’s a top player, but nowadays you can’t just stroll around and not do the defensive side of things.”
Ozil recently put pen-to-paper on a three-year deal with Arsenal making him the highest paid player in the Gunners history.
The 29-year-old missed training on Monday and Tuesday due to an illness but is expected to be fit for this weekends cup final clash.
Arsenal take on Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, kick-off is scheduled for 16:30 (GMT).
