Unai Emery Coy On Mesut Ozil’s Involvement Against Chelsea

By The Editor
on 17th January 2019

Unai Emery refused to confirm if Mesut Ozil would be included in the squad for the derby…

Arsenal boss Unai Emery refused to confirm whether or not Mesut Ozil would be included in the squad to face Chelsea on Saturday, ESPN reports.

Ozil has been absent from the squad since being hooked off at half-time against Brighton last month with Emery stating that he was not been ready to play due to “tactical reasons”.

Despite a slight knee niggle, Ozil has been in full training for almost a fortnight and many expected to see him included in the travelling party to face West Ham last week.

The 30-year-old was left out with Emery opting to take the likes of Nacho Monreal and Eddie Nketiah instead, a decision which eventually backfired as we were defeated 1-0.

Now, following another week of full training, Emery has remained coy on the playmaker and reiterated his sentiment that he views Ozil as just another member of the squad.

“I’ve spoken to him because I want consistency,” Emery told reporters.

“He’s had some injuries and these injuries mean that sometimes he is okay and sometimes he isn’t okay.

“I want every player to give the same work every day to be okay for every match. With Mesut, it’s the same. He didn’t play the last matches but to me, he’s just like any other player. This Saturday he can be with us if he’s okay.”

While many of Ozil’s mysterious absence has been when we’ve played away from home, it would be rather odd to exclude him from a home game against Chelsea.

I think many would understand if Emery deems him inadequate for a place in the first XI, but Ozil can provide an option from the bench.