I found myself agreeing with Arsene Wenger on Monday night
The Arsenal manager said last Friday that I would have loved to have played alongside Mesut Ozil — and that would be right, as long as Ozil played every week as well as he did at Old Trafford.
Arsenal impressed me against United, and that’s been a rarity in recent years. There were similarities with their performance against Manchester City in January. They looked sharp and hungry, full of energy in midfield, where they overpowered United. They looked physically commanding, too, and Danny Welbeck’s pace and power were important.
Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin were the pick of the team — I never had them down as so strong. They were quick and aggressive and got the better of United. They showed Louis van Gaal’s team what they were lacking in midfield and were not afraid to be direct with their attacks when it suited.
Arsene Wenger had leapt to the defence of Mesut Ozil after he was criticised by Paul Scholes, saying the former Manchester United midfielder would have loved playing with the German.
Arsenal’s record signing was described as “going through the motions” by Scholes, suggesting the World Cup winner lacked the motivation to win a league title.
But Wenger has backed Ozil, insisting his languid style disguises how hard he works, and believes the former England international would have enjoyed playing in the same side as the former Real Madrid playmaker.
“It is not fair,” said Wenger when asked about the remarks at his pre-match press conference ahead of FA Cup quarter-final clash with United at Old Trafford.
“A player like Paul Scholes would have loved to play with Mesut Ozil.”
The Frenchman continued: “He has the quality and he works a lot harder than his style of play shows.
“We are in a job where you have to prove a point, he knows that. He works much harder that his style shows.”
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