Arsenal legend Ian Wright has revealed the kind of games Mesut Ozil should be playing for the north London side. The German playmaker made only his second Premier League start in 2019 in the midweek demolition of Bournemouth, opening the scoring with his now trademark ‘bounced’ finish before setting up Henrikh Mkhitaryan shortly afterwards. Emery is believed to have reservations about playing Ozil in bigger matches, but Wright is adamant the 30-year-old’s talent is worth the risk.
‘I’d start Ozil (against Tottenham) because Ozil at the moment is our player man,’ the Gunners legend said on his YouTube channel ahead of the north London derby. ‘We know that [Aaron] Ramsey unfortunately is going, good luck to him, that decision is made. But Ozil is our player.
‘Whatever people say about Mesut not doing it in the big games, I’ve kind of accepted that, you know what, he might not do it in the big games. But when you see him against teams like Bournemouth, teams that he can batter and beat up, then play him, because those are the games where we’re going to get the three points in.
‘Those are the games that are going to push us to the top four, and if he’s going to dominate those games then play him. I said it a while back, I’d play him until the point where you say, “you know something, he’s got to go” or I’d play him until he plays himself into form and we say, “we’ve got to keep him man”. And if he doesn’t play in five or six games against them top boys, but we’re beating the other teams and he’s really smashing it, I’d probably take that. I’d take that for the time he’s here.’