As Arsenal prepare to face Manchester United in today’s Premier League tilt, a worrying piece of news has come off the teamsheet. For the second straight big game, Mesut Ozil is not to be found.
Two changes from the north London derby
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) December 5, 2018
↩️ Granit Xhaka, @HenrikhMkh
↪️ @MatteoGuendouzi, @aaronramsey#MUNARS pic.twitter.com/y9cJhfr6Y2
The news swirling around the German midfielder is suffering again from a back injury that has seen him already miss Sunday’s match against Spurs and seen training alone, away from the club. This isn’t anything new, either, despite what the talking heads may say. Ozil was at the center of speculation of his future after he missed much of the end of last season and took some time off in October from friendlies. Again, both due to a back injury.
These can be persistent problems for a normal human let alone an elite athlete and it begins to explain some of Unai Emery’s comments around Ozil’s dropping against Bournemouth, in that the match was “too demanding”. Perhaps this issue is well known in the clubhouse and Arsenal are doing their best to get Ozil to health ahead of the the busy festive period.
Hopefully, as the points in the congested Decmeber could go a long way to giving the team a true shot at the top four.