Martin Keown has questioned whether Arsenal superstar Mesut Ozil was playing for a move with his superb performance against Everton at Goodison Park.
The German playmaker scored his first goal of the season and also provided a fine assist as Arsenal smashed Ronald Koeman’s side 5-2 on Sunday.
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Ozil has been heavily criticised by a host of pundits for his performances during the 2017-18 campaign and Keown insisted he looked somewhere near back to his best at Everton.
But the Arsenal legend also raised the question as to whether Ozil, who will be out of contract next summer and has been linked with a move to Manchester United, had extra motivation to perform well against the Toffees.
‘I’ve been very critical of Ozil and I think rightly so,’ Keown said on Match of the Day 2. ‘He’s suddenly turned up [at Everton] and was running with purpose and energy.
‘He hasn’t been closing people down but he did that today – he showed his class. His vision and calmness on the ball was superb.
‘He showed a willingness to get forward, he was playing with a different head on today. Is he playing for a move? Who knows? Who cares?’
Wayne Rooney gave Everton an early lead but Arsenal drew level before half-time through defender Nacho Monreal.
Ozil then scored his first of the season before Alexandre Lacazette, Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez all scored in the final 15 minutes to secure a convincing win.
Arsenal 2017/18 fixtures
Norwich – Carbao Cup (H) – Tue 24 Oct
Swansea (H) – Sat 28 Oct
Red Star Belgrade – Europa League (H) – Thurs 2 Nov
Man City (A) – Sun 5 Nov
Tottenham (H) – Sat 18 Nov
FC Koln (A) – Europa League (A) – Thu 23 Nov
Burnley (A) – Sun 26 Nov
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright believes summer signing Lacazette, who has five goals to his name this term, is a ‘fantastic’ addition to Arsene Wenger’s squad at the Emirates.
‘I love Lacazette, I think he’s a fantastic signing,’ Wright added. ‘He stretched Everton and gave Arsenal that space.
‘When he gets in those situations [in front of goal], he finishes so well.’
While Keown questioned Ozil’s motives amid strong speculation linking him with United, Wenger felt his performance was in fact proof he had no intention of leaving Arsenal.
‘We live in an environment where we have to deal with the news and the players and myself have only always one response, which is what’s happening on the football pitch,’ Wenger said after his side’s dominant performance.
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‘When you see Mesut on the football pitch like he is today, enjoying his game like he is today, it’s difficult to believe these kind of things.
‘He was superb. Agile, quick, intelligent. Always at the service of the team with his quality of his passing and when he is at that level, he is an exceptional football player.’
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