Mesut Ozil’s agent has claimed that the playmaker is being made a “scapegoat” for Arsenal’s recent struggles.
Arsenal’s record signing has been the subject of sustained criticism over recent weeks, with even his manager Arsene Wenger admitting he is concerned by Ozil’s inability to reach his peak.
Those comments came before Arsenal’s 5-1 defeat at Bayern Munich in the Champions League, another game where Ozil faced opprobrium, not least for the failure to cover space that allowed Arjen Robben to score the German’s opener.
Whilst his agent accepts that some degree of criticism is acceptable he claimed that Ozil had been bearing the brunt of the blame for Arsenal’s wider malaise.
“Criticism is normal if a player plays badly,” Dr Erkut Sogut told BBC Sport.
“But Mesut feels people are not focusing on his performance; they are using him as a scapegoat for the team after bad results.”
Sogut added: “In these games people usually target a player who cost a lot of money and earns a lot of money – that is Mesut. But he can’t be always be the scapegoat. That’s not fair.
“Football is a team sport and Arsenal are not performing well as a team. Eleven players were on the pitch but Mesut was singled out for criticism. Was he the reason that Arsenal conceded five goals?
“It started before the match, throughout the week leading up to the game. People started discussing: ‘Should he play? Should he be dropped?’”
Ozil’s agent insisted that the 28-year-old remained “committed” to Arsenal though offered no clarification as to whether he would sign a new contract as he and Alexis Sanchez hold out for £290,000-a-week.
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