Arsenal manager Unai Emery has talked about the Mesut Ozil issue and informed everyone that he respects the German midfielder’s decision to call it quits from international football.
Ozil announced his retirement from International football a few days ago.
The Arsenal star was the target of criticism over his performances during Germany’s disappointing FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, as well as for his meeting with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May. Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan were jeered off by German fans in warm-up games before the tournament began.
Erdogan said on Tuesday, the treatment of Ozil was racist and unacceptable. The 29-year old’s decision to quit has triggered a bad-tempered public debate in Germany about its relations with its largest immigrant community. Emery told reporters in Singapore,
“It’s a personal decision [which] I respect. We are like his home. We are like his family, and we are going to help him to feel good. For him, it is one thing with the national team and another with us. With us, normality helps him to feel good every day in the training sessions. This normality is best for him, and I’m sure he’s going to have a big season for us.”
Emery added Arsenal are doing the best they can for Ozil to feel comfortable.
“He is doing nicely every day, training well with partners. We want him to feel good with us.”
The playmaker has not commented about his decision since his arrival in Singapore on Monday with Arsenal. Arsenal will also play Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday in the tournament.
The Arsenal midfielder blamed the German Football Federation (DFB) for failing to defend him against his most strident critics in recent times. He also explained in the statement that he had been blamed unfairly in Germany for the side’s shock first-round defeat at the World Cup.