Mesut Ozil Wouldn't Have Featured in Arsenal's 'Invincibles,' Says Martin Keown

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has said that Mesut Ozil is an "expensive luxury" and does not work hard enough to have played in Arsenal's 2003-04 "Invincibles" side, per James Restall for the Daily Mail.

During a joint interview with Chris Sutton, who told the Mail that "only [Alexis] Sanchez—and possibly Ozil" would have featured prominently during one of Arsene Wenger's title-winning seasons, Keown was quick to criticise the German playmaker.

"Ozil would not get in [the "Invincibles" or "late '90s" team]," he said, per Restall. "It would be a choice between Ozil and Dennis Bergkamp. Dennis played in the same position, but he would start higher up the pitch and then drop."

His initial reasoning may not come as much of a surprise—Bergkamp was voted Arsenal's second-greatest player of all time in a 2008 fan poll conducted by the club—but Keown went on to criticise Ozil's work rate.

TOM HEVEZI/Associated Press

"Ozil starts deep, and you don't know when he is coming or going," Keown said, referencing the Germany international's tendency to drift in and out of games. "We saw it against Chelsea—Sanchez is saying, 'Come on,' but Ozil does not really want to go and press."

Sanchez looks increasingly frustrated by his team-mates' lack of pressing and unfocused performances, which have been heavily condemned in recent days.

In his column for The Sun, former England international Alan Shearer summarised the general mood by referring to the current Arsenal squad as "one of the softest sides in the club's history."

Ozil's low-key style makes him an easy target when Arsenal start losing matches, but clearly the 28-year-old has not been at his best this season. He has just four assists in 21 league matches so far, after providing 19 Premier League assists in 2015-16, per WhoScored.com. As HITC sports editor Dan Coombs points out, this is hardly an impressive return:

Earlier in the interview, Keown referred to Ozil as an "expensive luxury when you are out of possession," arguing that "Ozil does not know his role when Arsenal do not have the ball, and it is the responsibility of the manager to tell him," per Restall.

Arsenal, who have now lost four of their last eight league matches, are yet to commit Ozil or Wenger to new contracts.

The German has 18 months remaining on his current deal, while the manager's contract expires in the summer. As recently as Jan. 8, Ozil suggested that his future depends upon Wenger remaining at the club, per Kicker (h/t Marcus Christenson for the Guardian).

However justified the response to his recent form, Ozil could still seek a move away from the Emirates Stadium in the near future. On Wednesday, former Germany captain Michael Ballack suggested that he should join Bayern Munich, arguing "if he wants to win a major title, he has a bigger chance to achieve that at Bayern," per Sport Bild (h/t Pete Sharland for Eurosport).

ALASTAIR GRANT/Associated Press

And a big-money move must be attractive after Arsenal's latest collapse. They are now 12 points behind leaders Chelsea and sit fourth, just one point ahead of Liverpool, while Wenger is yet to agree on a new deal—which former striker Ian Wright thinks could be in jeopardy after their back-to-back league defeats.

"Wenger has some really serious thinking to do at the end of the season," he said, per BBC Sport.

Keown's comments only add to the pressure surrounding the futures of Ozil and Wenger. Nobody would argue that the current crop of Wenger players are as strong as the "Invincibles," but such damning criticism highlights how deep Arsenal's problems run.