Asenal Manager Arsene Wenger Explains why He Benched Mesut Ozil against West Brom

Arsene Wenger explained why Mesut Ozil started on the bench for Arsenal‘s 2-0 victory over West Brom at the Emirates. The 28-year-old missed the Gunners’ clashes with Koln, Chelsea, Doncaster Rovers in the lead-up to the Baggies encounter but replaced Alexis Sanchez in 83rd minute after Alexandre Lacazette’s brace on Monday night.

Ozil’s last start came in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth on September 9 and Wenger revealed there were still concerns over the German’s fitness.

Asked about Ozil’s absence from his starting XI on Monday evening, Wenger told the BBC: ‘He just came back from a knee problem.

‘And he hasn’t practiced a lot in the last two weeks.

‘I didn’t know really how much he has lost on the fitness front.’

The north London club travel to Bate Borisov in midweek and Ozil will hope to feature in Arsenal’s second Europa League match of the season.

Source - Metro

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