MIKEL ARTETA says he HAS been honest with Mesut Ozil and his Arsenal revolution is a matter of trust.
Ozil’s agent Dr Erkut Sogut accused boss Arteta of not telling the truth about why he has frozen the German playmaker out at the Emirates. But Arteta claims honesty is at the heart of his leadership, saying: “If you have to lead, they have to trust you.
Mikel Arteta says he has been honest with Mesut OzilCredit: Reuters
“In order for them to trust you, you have to be honest. You have to be clear and you have to be able to tell people, face to face, the good and bad news.
“Then you have to be consistent in what you say, the demands you put in and what you apply.
“When things happen, you applaud them and then when they don’t, there are consequences. Then you create a culture and within that culture people have to be accountable.
“People have to step up and they have to demand the standards we need of each other from this football club in order to be successful.”
After the Gunners left Ozil, 32, out of their Premier League and Europa League squads, the World Cup winner complained on social media: “Loyalty is hard to come by nowadays.”
Sogut went further in an interview with ESPN and said: “Arsenal fans deserve an honest explanation, not Arteta saying, ‘I failed Ozil’.
“You didn’t fail Ozil. You failed to be fair, honest and transparent and treat someone with respect who has a contract and was loyal all the time.
“Every single person outside knows he hasn’t treated him fairly.
“If you talk, you should tell the truth the Arsenal supporters deserve, otherwise don’t talk at all.”
Ozil has been at loggerheads with the club on a number of issues, including his refusal to take a pay cut in April and in publicly voicing his support for Uighur Muslims in China last December.
He also offered to pay the salary of axed mascot Gunnersaurus, who was made redundant by the club in a cost-saving exercise.
Arteta says he has worked hard to get to know his players and assess where they fit into his plans to try to revive Arsenal’s fortunes.
And the verdict on Ozil is clearly not at all.
Ahead of this evening’s Premier League visit of Leicester, Arteta added: “I’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand the players.
“How they are feeling, their background, their culture, how they take certain reactions and certain comments.
“It’s not about what you say, it’s about the perception and how they understand your messages.
“They all have different backgrounds and problems with the language as well, so they might not understand exactly what you’re saying.
“It’s tricky and the best thing to do is ask the questions and get their opinions and then move from there.”
Carlton Cole says Mesut Ozil hasn’t helped himself to fit in the Arsenal team
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
