Arsene Wenger has laughed off Mesut Ozil’s omission from the Ballon d’Or long list with a sarcastic speech at him pre-match press conference for Arsenal’s league game against Sunderland.
Ozil was left off the list that featured 30 players and was compiled by France Football. There were a few shocks when it was released on Friday with the sole Englishman being Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy.
Wenger said: “Certainly there is a big satisfaction for him and for us as well, but I am against it because I think it gets in the head of players.
“We have seen many people only thinking about themselves because they are obsessed by Ballon d’Or and not by the team performance and I believe football is a collective sport and we live already in a world where everything is individualised.
“We want to respect what football is about, first about the team effort. Of course, I encourage and congratulate the players who do well and I’m happy for that.”
Wenger takes his side to Sunderland knowing that a win would place them at the top of the league, at least until the 3pm games kick-off on Saturday afternoon.
He continued: “But when you look at the history you do not always think that it has been the most objective decision always and I think that the players who are the best, we know very well about them.
“Let’s take care of those who are not as much in the glory. The best – we know all about them.”
The Gunners are currently on a 13-game unbeaten run in all competitions and will be looking to get a win against the Premier League’s current bottom club.
Meanwhile Sunderland have two points and are still looking for their first win nine games into the season.
After their trip to the north-east, Arsenal head to Bulgaria for their Champions League group game against Ludogorets; who they beat 6-0 in the return fixture at the Emirates earlier this month.
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