Arsenal boss Unai Emery has this afternoon praised Mesut Ozil, ahead of his side’s meeting with Newcastle United.
The Gunners are set to welcome Rafael Benitez’s Magpies to the Emirates tonight, in their first outing following the international break.
The matchup is set to prove an absolutely crucial one in Arsenal’s hunt to secure a top-4 spot.
A solid recent run of form on the part of Unai Emery’s men, which has seen them pick up 4 wins and a draw from their last 5 Premier League outings (including an impressive 2-0 victory over Manchester United last time out) means that a 3-point haul versus Newcastle would vault the North Londoners above capital rivals Spurs into 3rd in the English top-flight.
And, speaking in anticipation of his side’s latest outing during a press conference earlier today, Unai Emery was questioned on his possible team selection for tonight, with a particular emphasis on Mesut Ozil.
After a difficult opening half to the campaign under the new Arsenal boss, Ozil has begun to carve out more regular playing time for himself of late, with Emery having provided an insight into the reasoning behind the German’s improvement, as well as why he looks set for his latest start versus Newcastle:
‘His quality, his performance… he is being consistent in training and each match for us. He is training, he is playing and being consistent. He has a good mentality.’
On the prospect of taking on Rafael Benitez’s side, who have picked up 3 wins from their last 5 league fixtures, Emery continued:
‘Each match gives us the possibility to progress. First is in the table, second is improving as a team, in our system, tactically and individually.’
‘I want to be better each match and I think each player can progress. Each player can show us he is improving. In the table, our objective is very clear — to be in the top four. But we know this is difficult and each possibility, like Monday, is good.’
‘In 90 minutes we have different systems and different players. We need to continue doing that and maybe we can be consistent.’