Former Manchester United and Newcastle United midfielder, Alan Smith has praised Unai Emery’s unsympathetic treatment of Mesut Ozil, and believes the German international could play a vital role to the first win of the Spaniard’s tenure on Saturday.
Emery suffered back-to-back defeats against Manchester City and London rival, Chelsea, representing Arsenal’s worst start of the Premier League season since 1992.
Smith, however, believes the bold decision to substitute Ozil midway through the second half at Stamford Bridge last weekend sent out the right message.
According to him, the Hammers’ leaky defense could be ripe for the playmaker to exploit at the Emirates Stadium.
“If we can learn anything from Unai Emery’s first two games in charge, it’s that he won’t hesitate hooking players, no matter their reputation,” he told the Evening Standard.
“Mesut Ozil is, of course, the most obvious example, sacrificed at Chelsea after 68 largely anonymous minutes.
“Aside from the effect this might have on the German, it sends out an important message to the rest of the squad: fall short of my expectations and your time is up.
“I’m not predicting Ozil will be dropped. His attributes might actually suit a contest requiring imagination when the visitors drop back to defend in numbers,” he said.
