Bournemouth ‘too demanding’ for dropped Ozil, says Emery

There have been rumours of a rift between Arsenal manager and German midfielder (Ozil).

Unai Emery has fuelled suggestions that he maintains a difficult relationship with Mesut Özil after dropping him for Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Bournemouth and afterward claiming he did so because he did not believe the player could cope with the physically demanding nature of coming up against Eddie Howe’s men.

Özil was named among Arsenal’s substitutes here as Emery instead chose Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to play in the attacking creative roles behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a 3-4-2-1 formation.

Tiredness following the recent international break was not an issue given the 30-year-old retired from playing for Germany prior to the start of the season and it was noticeable how he did not even warm up during the second half, where up until the 67th minute Arsenal found themselves level at 1-1.

Emery added that every player in his squad is important but resting Özil after a two-week break and with Arsenal’s next game is Thursday’s Europa League visit to Vorskla Poltava, when the manager is expected to rest a host of first-team players, is odd, to say the least.

The decision is also somewhat damning of Özil given Bournemouth are hardly the most rugged of opposition and will only reopen the debate about the playmaker’s long-term future under Arsène Wenger’s successor.