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Mesut Ozil blasted by Matthew Etherington for failing to make Arsenal XI for Man Utd
MESUT OZIL deserves to be on the bench for Arsenal vs Manchester United tonight.
That is the view of former West Ham and Tottenham player Matthew Etherington.
Ozil has not played in an Arsenal game since Boxing Day.
He has been left either out of the squad on or the bench by manager Unai Emery.
Emery has not been afraid of dropping Ozil despite the ex-Real Madrid player picking up £350,000 a week.
His application was nowhere near good enough
And Etherington reckons the German deserves to stay on the bench for tonight’s FA Cup clash with United.
“It will be tough for Arsenal, Manchester United are in great form and looking for their eighth win,” he said on 5Live.
“It is going to be a great game, it always is between these two teams.
“It is a big statement from the manager to not start Mesut Ozil.
“Their relationship seems like its struggling.
“I was at the Brighton game and his performance was poor, his application was nowhere near good enough so I understand where Unai Emery is coming from.”
Meanwhile, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keen to get stuck into Arsenal tonight.
"These are the two most successful teams in the FA Cup,” he said.
“I’ve had some great games against Arsenal, both wins and defeats. To be on the outside will be different.
"Rom [Lukaku] gives us a physical presence up front, we might get more crosses into him.
“Alexis [Sanchez] is champing at the bit. We need to get him going again, he’s been out for a few weeks.
"The FA Cup final is a fantastic game to play in. But to get to the final you need to overcome difficult hurdles.
“We think this team will match and hopefully beat Arsenal."