Arsenal fans turn away from Ozil

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil must be dropped on the back of his poor performance against Bayern Munich in Wednesday's 2-0 defeat, according to Goal readers.

Just over 50 per cent (1220 votes) of people voted in favour of Arsene Wenger dropping the €50 million record signing, though 44.1% (1068 votes) think the Germany international deserves to keep his spot in the Gunners' line-up, with 5.7% (137 votes) unsure.

Ozil had a first-half penalty saved by Manuel Neuer in the Champions League first-leg last-16 clash at home to the Bundesliga leaders, with goals from Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller punishing his early error in the second half.

He went missing in the latter 45 minutes and failed to put in sufficient defensive work once his side were reduced to 10 men, with Jack Wilshere berating his team-mate at one point for a failure to chase back and track his runner.

Ozil's passing stats over the 90 minutes make for grim reading for Arsenal fans too, with the 25-year-old achieving a completion rate of just 54%.

The former Real Madrid midfielder has struggled to make a significant impact at the Emirates Stadium in recent months despite a promising start to his career in north London.

After five goals and numerous assists in his first four months with the club, Ozil has gone off the boil thus far in 2014 and has come under criticism for his failure to adopt a leading role in his side's push for honours this season.

The likes of Tomas Rosicky, Serge Gnabry and Mikel Arteta - the latter of whom was suspended for Wednesday's first-leg clash - are options to take Ozil's spot against Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.


/Goal.Com/