Former Chelsea and Manchester United manager believes that Arsenal just need the right balance to get the best out of Mesut Ozil. Mourinho brought Ozil to Real Madrid from Werder Bremen in the summer of 2010. Ozil played under him at the Bernabeu for three years.
Ozil has not played a single match for Arsenal since their Premier League match against Brighton at Boxing Day. Ozil was included in Arsenal’s squad to face Chelsea but was on the bench for the entirety of the match as Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-0. First half goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny saw Arsenal beating Chelsea in a Premier League game for the first time since September, 2016.
While talking to beIN Sports, Mourinho talked about Ozil’s situation at Arsenal. The Portuguese said, “Honestly, I don’t know what is going on, if he is having a physical problem or not. I know that there was some problem in relation to his contract, he is leaving on a free then he is not leaving on a free. I think finally he signed a contract and decided to stay.
So there is not an issue with contract, so I believe there is something with the physical point of view or there is some confrontation of ideas with Unai. I think the nature of football is exactly this nature. With me, Ozil played amazingly well but maybe not with Unai. And maybe a certain player that I don’t remember was phenomenal with Unai but doesn’t work as well with me. It’s just the nature of empathy.
I just feel that Ozil is the kind of player that needs the both sides of it. By one side, if you are just sweet with him, you lose his natural aggression because he’s not naturally a very strong, physical player in terms of aggression. If you are too strong with him and forget that he also needs a bit of care, a little bit of love, you don’t find the right balance. So I think it’s about finding the right balance with him.”
The win against Chelsea sees Arsenal return to 5th position. The Gunners next play their FA Cup 4th round tie against Manchester United on Friday before playing a League fixture against Cardiff City next Tuesday.
