Arsenal playmaker Mesut Özil lost discipline in the 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford according to BBC Football pundit Phil Neville.
The former Manchester United full-back stated Özil as well as Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez did not work hard enough to track back in the first 60 minutes of the game.
“Early on in the game, Arsenal pressed. It’s the three front players, Ramsey, Sanchez and Özil,” Neville said on Match of the Day 2 on Sunday night.
“But, the minute you lose the ball, you’ve got to sprint back. And what happened was – those three players lost their discipline.”
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Özil’s passing accuracy was uncharacteristically poor (79%) but he did complete the highest number of successful dribbled in the game (4).
The 26-year-old who made his 29th appearance was given a 7.1 rating for his performance according to Whoscored.
The World Cup winner recently revealed that he has been working on developing the physical side of his game.
“The football here is far more physical, it is played at a faster tempo and you have to adapt to the sheer number of games. I have had to work a lot harder and adjust my game accordingly. I used my time out with injury to work on my strength. I’m continuing to do extra sessions after training now,” Özil told Sport-Magazine.
The North London based club remained in third place and on course for automatic Champions League qualification following the draw against United.
Arsenal take on Sunderland next on Wednesday 20 May at the Emirates. The Gunners will then take on Aston Villa in the FA Cup final on May 30 at Wembley hoping to mount their defence of the cup.
