Arsene Wenger says that the missed penalty against Bayern Munich has affected the German star Mesut Ozil psychologically, but he is hoping that the club’s record signing can overcome the issue by performing exceptionally well in the second leg. Signed from Real Madrid for £ 42 million, Ozil has been one of the best players for Arsenal this campaign. However, his performances have dropped in recent weeks and the missed penalty against Bayern Munich drew a lot of criticism. A goal would have given Arsenal hope of recovering in the second leg.
As it is, they face a mountain to climb due to the 2-0 deficit on aggregate. Ozil has been looking tired in recent weeks and Wenger says that this tiredness is not just physical. Hence, he decided to leave out the 24-year-old from a couple of matches. This seems to have worked its magic after the midfielder returned to his best in the 4-1 win over Everton on Saturday. This helped the club reached the semifinals of the FA Cup after a long time. Ozil was the best player on the pitch against Everton and Wenger says that the player has benefited from the period of rest.
Up until now, the German international has been used to a winter break, but he has been playing without one for the first time this year.
“I think it [penalty miss] affected him mentally too much. It was not only physical, it was mental. He had the feeling he let the team down at a very important moment of the game. That affected his performance very much. Psychologically sometimes the wound is like a physical one. You can talk and talk and talk but it takes time. You just have to leave it to time. I think he is over it,” said Wenger.