Former Arsenal striker claims duo do not fit into Unai Emery’s system at the club
The Gunners have lost both of their opening Premier League fixtures
He was given the charge with the task of rebuilding the squad and returning the club to the European elite while challenging for other major honours, after they finished sixt in the Premier League last season resulting in missing the Champions League this season.
The Gunners have made 5 new additions this summer: Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria, Matteo Guendouzi from Lorient, Bernd Leno from Bayer Leverkusen, Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Borussia Dortmund and Stephan Lichtsteiner from Juventus.
However, the Premier League giants haven’t got off to a great start as they have begun life under the Spaniard with back-to-back defeats in the Premier League against their big rivals Chelsea and Manchester City.
Former Arsenal striker Paul Merson claims Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan do not fit into Emery’s desired system at the club.
“He hasn’t got the players to have a 20-yard gap between defence and attack, working hard. Ozil and Mkhitaryan are not those type of players, he told as quoted by Sky Sports.
“If you were building a team tomorrow, you’d want to play a high pressing game, work as a team, not to have gaps between the lines, and you’re not buying Ozil and Mkhitaryan.
“If you go the Arsene Wenger way, wanting to play entertaining, free-flowing, great football, then Ozil and Mkhitaryan will walk in any team in the world. But they will not get in teams that want to press!
“I don’t know if the current crop have gone past being able to learn that way of playing. That’s my concern. I don’t mean regarding their age, but in the way they play the game.
“Ozil’s future? I don’t know. I’m a big fan of him, he’s a quality player, but sometimes you watch him and the game passes him by.”
Read Also: Former Arsenal star rates club’s Premier League title chances