Sead Kolasinac says Arsenal team-mate Mesut Ozil is “unhappy”
Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac has admitted that Mesut Ozil is “a bit unhappy” at his lack of game time this season.
The Germany international has barely featured under Unai Emery in 2019/20, making just one appearance in the Premier League.
Ozil started for Arsenal in Wednesday’s manic 5-5 draw with Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, which ended with a penalty shoot-out defeat for the Gunners.
But that was just his third appearance in all competitions and his team-mate Kolasinac revealed the exclusion has been getting to the midfielder.
“Mesut is a really driven player,” Kolasinac told Premier League Productions, as reported by the Standard.
“He is a bit unhappy at the minute but you would never see that in his training.
"He is doing everything he can. He is doing extra sessions to make sure he is at the level he needs to be.”
He added: “Mesut is Mesut. He has got a lot of special qualities.
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“For example, the opposing team might put two players on him players on him rather than one — which creates a lot of space for others. That makes a real difference on the pitch and in the game.
“Everyone knows the quality he has, we have seen it. He is one of the top players in Europe and I think he can achieve a lot and really help the team further when he’s back.”
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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.