Tony Adams has defended Mesut Ozil after the midfielder appeared to launch a rant at Alexandre Lacazette following Arsenal’s defeat to Brighton on Thursday evening.
Freddie Ljungberg’s side were beaten 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium, leaving the Swede still searching for his first win since he replaced Unai Emery as interim manager last week.
After the full-time whistle following the loss to Brighton, television cameras caught Ozil shouting ‘Laca’ before the midfielder gestured angrily towards Arsenal’s bench.
Ozil stormed down the tunnel but continued to look annoyed as he walked past Per Mertesacker, who was standing in the technical area.
But former Arsenal captain Adams praised Ozil for showing his frustration.
Mesut Ozil was visibly frustrated as he left the pitch after tonight’s Arsenal match.#ARSBHA pic.twitter.com/uaelP9Kcx6
— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) December 5, 2019
‘I don’t mind that actually,’ Adams told Premier League productions.
‘There’s a little bit of spirit there. I don’t mind that.
‘Maybe he should have done it before the game. Before the game take that attitude on to the pitch.
‘The game’s gone now, it’s all over.
‘If he’d got the frustration out before the game and say ‘I’m really go and run around and do my stuff today’. He’s frustrated, obviously.’
Meanwhile, Ljungberg admits his players looked ‘scared’ after a poor performance in the opening half.
Arsenal were trailing at the break after Adam Webster opened the scoring for Brighton. Alexandre Lacazette struck an equaliser after Arsenal made a bright start to the second half but the Gunners faded towards the end of the match and Neal Maupay netted the winner with 10 minutes remaining.
‘They look very short on confidence,’ Arsenal’s interim manager said after the match.
‘In the first half they were scared to get the ball and a bit scored to move, they were just standing still. That’s something we need to talk about.
‘They need to have a win, we need to dig out a win and get them some confidence.
‘They can do it because they showed it in the beginning of the second half and they did it really well for 20 minutes.
‘It’s hard to say that when you lose at home, but they were very good in that little spell.’
