Unai Emery has a plan to get the best out of Mesut Ozil this season as it seems like the playmaker is going to stay at Arsenal for the foreseeable future.
The Germany international has had an inconsistent time in recent seasons with the Gunners and was often a bit-part player under Emery in his first campaign as manager.
He has had injury concerns with his back and knee, and has often struggled to win over fans at the Emirates.
Being the club’s highest earner, there was much speculation that he was going to be moved on this summer, if possible.
It appeared he had not won over Emery either, but the Spaniard has faith in the German and is impressed with his level of commitment ahead of a fresh campaign.
‘I spoke with him last week at the beginning of pre-season and wanted to get his best performance,’ said Emery. ‘The way to achieve that is with daily commitment.
‘He’s working very well and I’m very positive about his commitment. He has a high, high commitment today.
‘He’s one of the captains of the team with Granit Xhaka and Nacho Monreal. I’m looking forward to seeing the best Mesut Ozil this season.’
Ozil also confirmed that the manager and player had spoken, and while he wouldn’t confirm the details of the conversation, it appears the two have reached a level of understanding that wasn’t there last season.
‘What we spoke about between me and the coach I can’t say, I can’t tell you because if I say something now to you, in the future he doesn’t want to speak to me again, so I have to take care of that!’ Ozil said.
‘I’ve had a lot of coaches in my career so of course every coach is different and wants something different from you as a player.
‘I had a few injuries before last season started so of course I had a tough time but especially the end of the season I played a lot of games.
‘I have a really good relationship with the coach. We are speaking a lot and he wants to help me – I know that because he has a lot of experience – and I want to help the team.’
With signings proving difficult to come by for Arsenal, one of Emery’s key tasks will be to get the best out of the former Real Madrid man this season.
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