Arsenal news: Mesut Ozil problem revealed after Germany World Cup defeat
MESUT OZIL’s lack of athleticism was part of the reason behind Germany’s opening World Cup defeat to Mexico on Sunday, claims former Arsenal midfielder Stewart Robson.
Mesut Ozil 'did not want to defend' against Mexico claims Robson
Germany suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Mexico thanks to a first-half Hirving Lozano goal.
Ozil played the entire 90 minutes and, like the majority of Joachim Low’s side, struggled with the pace of the opposition.
Robson says the lack of speed in the Germany midfield, with Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos playing alongside the Arsenal star, is an issue going forward in the tournament for the defending champions.
“They got their game-plan right in the first half,” Robson told ESPN FC.
Arsenal news: Mesut Ozil and Germany were on the losing side against Mexico on Sunday (Image: ESPN/GETTY)
Ozil didn’t want to defend and that was the problem
Stewart Robson on Germany star Mesut Ozil
“They defended quite well, the game was very open in the first half.
“What you saw with Germany is that they’ve got players now that aren’t very athletic. Khedira, Kroos in midfield.
“As soon as Mexico won the ball back and started to counter attack, those two players couldn’t get into good positions.
“(Mats) Hummels, as the centre-half, sold himself too often into midfield areas and then got played in behind and they didn’t recover quickly enough.
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Mesut Ozil is NOT giving everything says Martin Keown
Arsenal news: Robson says the lack of athleticism in the Germany midfield is a problem (Image: ESPN)
“Mesut Ozil didn’t want to defend and that was the problem.
“Mexico played brilliantly on the counter attack, they played at a pace that Germany didn’t want to play at. That’s why they won the game.
“If you’ve got Ozil, Khedira and Kroos as your midfield three and you lack that athleticism, when teams counter attack you, you’ve got a problem.”