Mesut Ozil has told Arsenal‘s rising stars Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson to keep believing in their own ability as Unai Emery‘s squad look to maintain an impressive start to the new campaign.
Midfielder Willock, 20, and forward Nelson, 19, have started both of the Gunners’ opening Premier League matches.
Head coach Emery could opt to make changes for the trip to Liverpool on Saturday, where his side will aim to make it three straight wins.
Ozil feels keeping focused on what got them into the first team will help them overcome the many personal challenges ahead.
“I just want to say that the most important thing is to believe in yourself,” Ozil told Arsenal Player.
1/10 Arsenal winter transfer targets
Josh Kroenke has promised Arsenal plan to be ‘proactive’ in the winter transfer market. But who could they sign?
Getty
2/10 Wilfried Zaha
Arsenal have not completely given up on prizing Wilfried Zaha away from Crystal Palace. He won’t come cheap … but for the right price Palace may be tempted to cash in, particularly if the 26-year-old fails to impress in the first half of the season.
Getty Images
3/10 Eduardo Camavinga
The 16-year-old – who enjoyed a breakthrough performance against PSG in Ligue 1 last weekend – is also a target for Manchester United, City and Tottenham. Arsenal could attempt to replicate their William Saliba deal with Saint-Étienne by signing Camavinga and then immediately loaning him back to current club, Rennes.
AFP/Getty Images
4/10 Dayot Upamecano
If Josh Kroenke is true to his word, and his family do back the club in the winter market, than 20-year-old defender Dayot Upamecano is surely the first player they will attempt to sign. Arsenal came close to landing him this summer, only to balk at Leipzig’s £55m price tag having so recently spent a club-record £72m on Nicolas Pepe.
Bongarts/Getty Images
5/10 Samuel Umtiti
Arsenal will monitor the first half of the 25-year-old’s season at Barcelona very closely. The defender’s 2018/19 season was hampered by injury and Unai Emery has gone on record about how much he rates the World Cup winner.
Icon Sport via Getty Images
6/10 Daniele Rugani
Juventus are desperate to get rid of the defender as they scramble to balance the books ahead of this week’s Italian transfer deadline. If they fail to offload Rugani he will certainly be available in the winter, and could make a good cut-price solution if Arsenal do indeed manage to sell Shkodran Mustafi this month.
AFP/Getty Images
7/10 Robert Arboleda
Arsenal came very close to signing the Ecuador international Robert Arboleda from São Paulo on transfer deadline day, instead snapping up David Luiz. But if they are short in defence in five months time, the 27-year-old would make a sensible purchase, especially considering his club were willing to sell.
AFP/Getty Images
8/10 Fagner Conserva
Another South American defender that Arsenal have preciously explored signing, that they could move for if necessary in January. Plays for Edu’s former club Corinthians, which would help speed up any deal.
AP
9/10 Everton
Arsenal seriously explored signing the 23-year-old Brazil international this summer, but were deterred by his rapidly escalating price tag. But if they are backed by Josh Kroenke this winter, could they return for the Grêmio star? A move to Europe surely beckons for the electric forward, who won the 2019 Copa América top scorer award this summer.
REUTERS
10/10 Toby Alderweireld
The Spurs defender will be available to negotiate a free transfer to another club from January. Could Arsenal snap him up? It’s happened once before…
Getty Images
1/10 Arsenal winter transfer targets
Josh Kroenke has promised Arsenal plan to be ‘proactive’ in the winter transfer market. But who could they sign?
Getty
2/10 Wilfried Zaha
Arsenal have not completely given up on prizing Wilfried Zaha away from Crystal Palace. He won’t come cheap … but for the right price Palace may be tempted to cash in, particularly if the 26-year-old fails to impress in the first half of the season.
Getty Images
3/10 Eduardo Camavinga
The 16-year-old – who enjoyed a breakthrough performance against PSG in Ligue 1 last weekend – is also a target for Manchester United, City and Tottenham. Arsenal could attempt to replicate their William Saliba deal with Saint-Étienne by signing Camavinga and then immediately loaning him back to current club, Rennes.
AFP/Getty Images
4/10 Dayot Upamecano
If Josh Kroenke is true to his word, and his family do back the club in the winter market, than 20-year-old defender Dayot Upamecano is surely the first player they will attempt to sign. Arsenal came close to landing him this summer, only to balk at Leipzig’s £55m price tag having so recently spent a club-record £72m on Nicolas Pepe.
Bongarts/Getty Images
5/10 Samuel Umtiti
Arsenal will monitor the first half of the 25-year-old’s season at Barcelona very closely. The defender’s 2018/19 season was hampered by injury and Unai Emery has gone on record about how much he rates the World Cup winner.
Icon Sport via Getty Images
6/10 Daniele Rugani
Juventus are desperate to get rid of the defender as they scramble to balance the books ahead of this week’s Italian transfer deadline. If they fail to offload Rugani he will certainly be available in the winter, and could make a good cut-price solution if Arsenal do indeed manage to sell Shkodran Mustafi this month.
AFP/Getty Images
7/10 Robert Arboleda
Arsenal came very close to signing the Ecuador international Robert Arboleda from São Paulo on transfer deadline day, instead snapping up David Luiz. But if they are short in defence in five months time, the 27-year-old would make a sensible purchase, especially considering his club were willing to sell.
AFP/Getty Images
8/10 Fagner Conserva
Another South American defender that Arsenal have preciously explored signing, that they could move for if necessary in January. Plays for Edu’s former club Corinthians, which would help speed up any deal.
AP
9/10 Everton
Arsenal seriously explored signing the 23-year-old Brazil international this summer, but were deterred by his rapidly escalating price tag. But if they are backed by Josh Kroenke this winter, could they return for the Grêmio star? A move to Europe surely beckons for the electric forward, who won the 2019 Copa América top scorer award this summer.
REUTERS
10/10 Toby Alderweireld
The Spurs defender will be available to negotiate a free transfer to another club from January. Could Arsenal snap him up? It’s happened once before…
Getty Images
“Of course you have some days when it doesn’t go so well, but you have to believe in yourself, keep working and the most important thing is to have fun.
“If you don’t have fun, if you are losing and you make mistakes you will be disappointed. But don’t listen to anyone, you know how good you are, believe in yourself and have fun.”
Former Germany international Ozil has yet to feature for Arsenal this season.
Along with team-mate Sead Kolasinac, the 30-year-old was a victim of an attempted car-jacking last month and did not travel to Newcastle for the first match of the new campaign as the police investigated “further security incidents”.
Ozil then missed last weekend’s win at Burnley because of illness.
Having come through the youth ranks at Shalke to go on and play for Werder Bremen and then Real Madrid before joining Arsenal in September 2013, Ozil knows just how challenging continued progress for a talented youngster can be.
“I was nervous (when I entered the first-team dressing room at Schalke), but also excited because it was the first time I spent time with the players,” he said.
“I was very, very quiet. I didn’t speak a lot in the dressing room, I was just looking to the left and the right and couldn’t believe I was here now playing with them. It was a great moment for me.
“I was just looking and thinking, ‘Oh my God, now I am here! Now I have to show my quality’.
“It was easier for me to show my potential on the pitch because they all helped me a lot. They stood behind me, so I was able to just enjoy playing football.”
Ozil added: “I was always giving everything to play in training, and after that if I’m not in the squad, or didn’t play those players always came to me and showed their respect.
“They spoke to me and told me I have a lot of quality, be calm, believe in yourself and your time will come.”
PA
