Thread by @afcSource

🚨| #AFC

Mesut Ozil EXCLUSIVE interview with @TheAthletic (THREAD):

“When I signed my new deal, I thought about it very carefully and said it was one of the most important decisions of my career. I didn’t want to stay for just one or two more years

I wanted to commit my future to Arsenal and the club wanted me to do the same."

“You can go through difficult times, like this, but that is no reason to run away and I’m not going to. I’m here until at least 2021."

"Wenger was a big factor in me joining Arsenal but ultimately I signed for the club. Even when Arsene announced he was leaving, I wanted to stay because I love playing for Arsenal and that’s why I’ve been here for six years.

“When I left Real Madrid, it was a really tough time for Arsenal. But I always believed in what we could do and together we delivered. Recently things have been difficult and a lot has changed. But I’m proud to be an Arsenal player, a fan and I’m happy here.

Whenever people see me in the street I always say, ‘This is my home’. I’m going nowhere.”

(On recent comments from Emery and Sanllehi):

“All I know is what has already been said--It’s disappointing, of course. But as a professional footballer, I have to respect the decision of the coach. Not being involved, watching from home, makes me feel helpless.

“I want to be part of the side, I want to support my teammates to succeed. I’m not training all the time just for the sake of it, I’m ready to play. This shouldn't be about me or the coach, only the club. I have to give everything, be fit & focused, I’m training hard to be ready.

“Pre-season went very well and although things were disrupted by the [moped] attack, since then I’ve been fully available and when the coach has selected me I’ve been ready, played and always tried to give my best.

“I’ve trained at the same level my whole career but because I’ve not had minutes recently, I’m doing extra work with the fitness coach and in the gym to get even fitter than normal. I know what is needed and believe in myself.”

“I’ve worked under some of the biggest coaches in the world — Arsene, Mourinho, Low — & always I show respect. It’s the same for Unai.
“We may not see eye-to-eye on everything but that’s normal, it’s life and it’s the same with family & friends. You must accept it & go forward.”

Interviewer: What if Emery never selects you again?

Ozil: I don’t think that will happen. I will play. I believe in myself to do what he asks of me and I want to help the club to reach our goals.

Ozil on slacking/downing tools after signing his new contract:

“If that was true, why did I work so hard and positively during pre-season this year? And why, after the World Cup last year, did I return from holiday early for the first time in my career to start training early?

I did it for the new coach, the team and the club. Maybe people don’t like that I have a good contract? I don’t know or care.”

“It always happens that an ex-player on TV criticises me-Others continue the theme & it gets in people’s heads-If we don’t do well in a ‘big’ game, it’s always my fault. If it’s true, how do we explain our results in the big games I wasn’t involved in? There’s no real difference.

"I know people expect me to offer more, dictate play and make the difference — I do, too — but it’s not that straightforward.

“I’m not the only player in the team and, don’t forget, some of our opponents are simply better than us.

"Also, what is a ‘big’ or ‘small’ game? In the Premier League, anyone can beat anyone. Look at Wolves and Norwich beating Man City, or Newcastle and West Ham beating Man United."

“So you can’t say my good performances only came in ‘small’ games because these games don’t really exist. The intensity is there in every match and often the ‘small’ teams raise their standard against the ‘big’ teams."

“I get very frustrated when I miss a game through illness & people question if it is genuine. Yes, it happened a few times — usually in the winter — but what am I supposed to do? If you knew me, you'd know it takes a lot for me to miss a game & I have never used it as an excuse."

"[It's] actually the opposite. I played many games when I was ill or injured. Before the Champions League game against Bayern [March 2017], I was sick & Arsene told me I was not in the squad.

The next morning, the guys from Arsenal called me and said, ‘Listen, you have to come to the stadium, you have to be in the squad’. Despite my illness, I joined the squad and played"

Ozil on body language:

“It’s my personality, I was always like this. If a game isn't going well or I play a bad ball, I get frustrated because I know it can be better. It's the same when I come off the pitch looking angry. I’m a perfectionist, at times I want too much perfection

“It doesn’t take long to get over — I’m not going around the pitch or sat on the bench pissed off for the next five minutes. It’s just in that moment and then we continue. I realise it’s not good to show this, but it’s instinctive, so I don’t plan it and it’s not easy to change.

“This is me. I’m the same person at Arsenal as I was at Schalke, Werder Bremen, Real Madrid and the German national team. People may want me to change but I’ve been successful everywhere and I never will.”