Sooner or later Mesut Ozil needs to have a big game in a big match for Arsenal to win the Premier League. Will he step up his game this season?
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Arsenal star midfielder Mesut Ozil received some constructive criticism from a Gooner legend this weekend regarding his tendency to play his best games in smaller matches.
Former Arsenal star Jens Lehmann told The Sun that Ozil has been a fantastic player in “small games” but needs to stop being a “mediocre player” in the big games. The two-time UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year warned Ozil that he needs to play better in big games and knows he is capable of doing so.
“Everyone knows he can be a fantastic player. But you need to be a fantastic player in the big games,” Lehmann said. “You don’t need to be a fantastic player in the small games and mediocre player in the big games.
“He can definitely do that but now he must prove it. You need to know how to think and how to programme yourself.”
Ozil joined Arsenal out of Real Madrid in 2013 for an estimated £42.4m, but hasn’t played more than 26 games for Arsenal in either of his first two seasons. Despite holding the position of attacking midfielder, Ozil has come up small in a number of critical and has just 9 goals in his first two seasons with the Gunners.
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