Arsenal captain Mesut Ozil got angered when he was replaced by Danny Welbeck with 22 minutes left to go in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace yesterday. Just after the Gunners went up 2-1 on the hosts, Ozil was subbed off. He reacted by throwing his gloves to the ground in disgust before he took his seat on the bench.
Unai Emery said in postgame that this reaction is completely normal and that there is no problem with the attacking midfielder’s general attitude at all.
“It’s normal that he’s not happy,” Emery said at his post game press conference of Mesut Ozil.
“He showed us character when we are not playing well, and when I substituted him is when we are 2-1 up, but usually every player wants to continue playing. I like the players who show character.”
He later added: “He was not happy because the result was not good at the end.”
You can’t blame Ozil for being angry about the final result, as it was quite controversial. Palace, who had not scored at home this season up until this contest, got both of their goals off penalty kicks. Ozil was legitimate in his anger for many reasons, going just beyond having his afternoon ended early.
There was an added layer to Arsenal’s dropping points yesterday, because the result ended the Gunners’ 11 game win streak, and they were just three shy of tying the club record. It’s hard to disagree with Emery on his assessment here- the frustration/anger Ozil conveyed here is probably just a product of his fiery competitiveness, not indicative of anything more unsettling.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.