GW28 : Minggu banyak team menang besar | Ozil is back | Spurs kena ngan The Blues

Cardiff City 0-3 EVERTON | ARSENAL 5-1 Bournemouth | Crystal Palace 1-3 MAN UTD
LIVERPOOL 5-0 Watford | MAN CITY 1-0 West ham | CHELSEA 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur

“That game was exceptional; I don’t think I was ever part of a game that somebody had a hat-trick of assists." -Klopp

Mesut Ozil's international retirement is a tragic end to a glorious career

• Mesut Ozil penned a letter announcing his retirement from international football
• Ozil claimed he had been made a scapegoat and victim of political propaganda  
• The ex-Germany midfielder won his country's Player of the Year award five times
• Ozil posed for a photo with controversial Turkish leader Recep Tayipp Erdogan 

On Sunday, one of Germany's finest ever midfielders retired from international football. It is safe to assume that there will be no farewell party, no testimonial, no teary-eyed lap of honour.

Mesut Ozil's retirement from international football was about as explosive as they come. On Sunday evening, the Arsenal player launched a stinging attack on the German FA (DFB), accusing them at best of failing to protect him, and at worst of institutional racism.

Ozil, a German born to Turkish parents, has been the subject of an ever more toxic public debate ever since his controversial decision to be photographed with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the spring.

His retirement was the climax of that affair, which has utterly overshadowed German football this summer.

Ozil was the talismanic figure in Germany's golden generation and starred for the Under 21s

It was also a tragic end to what has been a glistening international career for Ozil, who has been the talismanic figure of a golden generation of German players, the creative genius at the heart of Germany's World Cup-winning team.

Yet it has also been a turbulent international career for Ozil, who in nine years of playing for Germany, has often struggled to win the hearts of German fans.

Though Ozil reserved his fiercest criticism for DFB president Reinhard Grindel, his retirement felt like a reckoning with Germany as a whole. It was no coincidence that, after weeks of silence, he chose to write his statement in English.

The midfielder made his mark at the 2010 World Cup with a wonderful strike against Ghana

Bild accused Ozil of double standards, saying that the 'whinging' midfielder was happy to be German when the team were doing well, only to play up his Turkish roots when things went wrong. 

Ozil would argue that it is not he who makes such a distinction, but the media and the public. He is, for many, a German when he plays well, but Turkish when he plays badly.

So it has been ever since Ozil burst onto the scene as part of the Under-21 side who became European Champions in 2009. Ozil scored in the 4-0 victory over England at that tournament, and he and many of his team-mates on that day would go on to become World Champions.

Ozil had made his senior debut for Germany earlier that year, laying to rest speculation that he, like many German-Turkish players, would choose to play for Turkey over Germany at senior level.

Ozil, of Turkish descent, was held as a symbol of integration and was photographed shaking hands with German leader Angela Merkel after a 3-0 victory over Turkey in Berlin in 2010

'For me there was never any doubt that I would choose Germany,' said Ozil ahead of his international debut against Norway.

As he established himself as a regular under Joachim Low in the following years, Ozil also became a symbol for the success of the DFB's work on integration issues. 

In 2010, after scoring against Turkey in a 3-0 victory in Berlin, Ozil was famously photographed, topless, shaking hands with Angela Merkel in the German dressing room.

'It was a picture with symbolic value,' wrote the Welt at the time. That a Muslim, German-Turkish player would shake hands with the Chancellor in a state of undress, after having scored against Turkey of all countries, was held up as evidence of how far football, and German society, had come. 

Later that year, he would become the first person to be awarded with the prestigious Bambi Award for Integration.

The debate over Ozil exploded at the 2014 World Cup but he would go on to lift the trophy

Germany coach Joachim Low has always been a staunch defender of Ozil during his career

Yet at that point, things were going well anyway. Earlier in 2010, Ozil had enjoyed a breakthrough World Cup in South Africa, bursting onto the world stage and ultimately earning a move to Real Madrid.

After a magical performance in Germany's 4-0 thrashing of Argentina, Focus magazine described Ozil as 'the German Messi'. Not only did he have Messi's creative finesse, they argued, but he was also softly spoken and media-shy, just like the Argentine superstar.

By Euro 2012, Ozil had indeed established himself as Germany's creative star. Nonetheless, a now familiar debate was growing over his style. After semi-final defeats in 2010 and 2012, many accused the German side of lacking a winning mentality, and Ozil was increasingly singled out as an example.

As they would do later in England, his detractors back home pointed to his apparent lack of work ethic and negative body language. His supporters argued that this was superficial, and pointed to the statistics.

Ozil would win Germany's Player of the Year award five times across the past seven seasons

That divide in opinion would crystallise further in the coming years. In 2013, Ozil enjoyed what was probably his finest year in a Germany shirt, lighting up the World Cup qualifying campaign with several marvellous displays. 

Yet just a year later, the old criticisms had resurfaced. In a friendly against Chile in 2014, he began the evening by receiving the award for Germany Player of the Year the previous year, and ended it being booed by Germany fans for his apparent lack of commitment.

At the World Cup in 2014, the debate over Ozil exploded. After underwhelming performances in the group stage, many called for him to be dropped.

'He has been an enormous disappointment at this tournament,' lamented Bild after Germany scraped past Algeria. Ozil scored a decisive goal in that game, and the relief was visible in his celebration. Yet the criticism continued, with many calling for him to be dropped ahead of the semi-final with Brazil.

Ozil caused controversy by posing for a photo with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan

The criticism reached boiling point ahead of Russia 2018 and Ozil was jeered by German fans

In the elation over that 7-1 win and the subsequent triumph in Rio de Janeiro, the debate faded away. Joachim Low, who had always fiercely defended Ozil, had been vindicated in victory.

Yet Low would have to defend him again in the coming years. At Euro 2016, the old dividing lines re-emerged, with one half of the country lambasting Ozil for his apparent lack of commitment, and the other half defending him with cold, hard statistics. 

When he missed a penalty in the quarter-final shootout against Italy, a Bavarian politician tweeted 'never let Ozil take a penalty again'. Once again, it felt like the midfielder had been singled out unfairly.

By 2018, the criticism was worse. After Germany's exit, right-wing politicians accused him of purposefully sabotaging the World Cup campaign on President Erdogan's orders.

The fact that Ozil, once again, had statistically been one of Germany's most effective players, was forgotten. The Erdogan affair had, from the very start, meant that he could never win. 

It represents a tragic end to a glistening international career for Ozil, who earned 92 caps

The retirement is a fittingly miserable end to a miserable summer for German football. When a player like Ozil retires, it should be an opportunity to look back at a glorious career. Instead, there is only bitterness.

Arsenal's Mesut Ozil tells critics: 'Stop talking and start supporting'

Mesut Ozil has told those who would criticise both him and Arsenal to "stop talking and start supporting."

To mark the fourth anniversary since he arrived at Arsenal from Real Madrid in 2013, Ozil took to social media to discuss his time at the Emirates Stadium.

The Germany international has often come in for criticism since joining Arsenal, with his work rate and body language questioned, but he called on pundits to get behind him and the team rather than point the finger.

"Personally I've had to accept a lot of criticism during my time in London," he wrote. "'Too expensive, too greedy, bad body language, and lacking fight' -- this is what people have said about me.

"Some of these comments are made by those who do not know me, some are made by former players -- both successful and unsuccessful during their time here at the club.

"Although criticism is something that all football players have to deal with, I nevertheless expected legends to behave like legends -- my advice to these former Gunners: stop talking and start supporting!"

Ozil cuts a dejected figure during the Gunners' 4-0 humbling at the hands of Liverpool

Arsenal have faced plenty of criticism in recent weeks following a poor start to the season and a frustrating transfer window.

But Ozil, currently on international duty with Germany, feels there is plenty to be celebrated at the Emirates Stadium.

"During the last couple of days my DFB [Germany] teammates have been asking me about how everything is at Arsenal at the moment," he wrote. "They claimed to have read about the current crisis through the media, as pundits and former players are commenting on a daily basis. They say that this could be the worst team in years, even decades.

Ozil is currently away on international duty with Germany but he is aware of the criticism

"I'm writing this text together with people that are close to me, and we've got something to celebrate. Although no match was won, or trophy was lifted today, Arsenal and I are celebrating our anniversary! Four years ago I was transferred in a last minute deal from Real Madrid to Arsenal -- Arsene Wenger convinced me.

"He told me about the great history of this club, about its living legends such [Dennis] Bergkamp, [Patrick] Vieira and [Robert] Pires, who owe a large part of their success to the manager. Arsene told me how he would help me to develop as a player, and this is something every player wants to hear, as it is great encouragement."

Ozil added: "We have achieved a lot in our four years together. Three of the 13 FA Cup victories have been accomplished in the past four years, with the other 10 taking 75 years for the club to win. This is in addition to our three Community Shield wins. After all, six titles in four years is quite something.

"However, this only makes myself and the team even more disappointed for not playing a role in the title race at the end of last season -- this is something we hope to change this year."

Ozil's long-term future remains unclear given he is out of contract with Arsenal at the end of the season and has so far yet to agree to an extension.

But he says whatever is to come, he is proud to play for Arsenal and is looking forward to the season ahead.

When Arsenal fail to perform it is often Ozil who is made a scapegoat by sections of the media

"Even though I personally do not know how my career will continue after this year, I look forward to my fifth season with Arsenal," he wrote. "This is because Arsenal is a great club with great people and great traditions.

"I am glad to be able to wear your shirt, Gooners. I've had so many great moments in the last four years and I really appreciate what this club means to the people of London, the UK and all over the world."

EPL : Menang tipis jer...

EPL : Arsenal tumbang x bermaya + keputusan gw17

Pep Guardiola is in great spirits after beating Arsenal

Ozil's lack of impact hurts Arsenal

"It has been a horrible week, absolutely horrible," Wenger said after Sunday's game.

 "Out of two leading positions, we lost two games, and that is very disappointing. We were in control against City and it didn't look like we could lose because every time we stopped them creating chances, they looked short of ideas. But we dropped physically in the second half, gave them hope at 1-1, and we were a bit short, mentally as well."

 Manchester City’s match-winner Raheem Sterling battles for the ball with Héctor Bellerín during City’s 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium. Photograph: Rui Vieira/AP

1) Manchester City’s title challenge is still on

2) No Stones but still no clean sheet

ARSENAL teratas liga buat masa ini | Menang 3-1 ngan Stoke

Arsenal fought back from a goal down to take top spot in the #PL on Saturday

Alexander Iwobi ‏@alexiwobi  8h

8 hours ago

Great Team Performance To Come Back From Behind & Good to Get My First @premierleague Goal Of The Season. #BIG17

Arsenal do just enough

An enforced change and a delightful moment helped Arsenal beat Stoke. Having fallen behind, Arsene Wenger's side were inspired by Hector Bellerin's introduction and Mesut Ozil's superb winning goal. 

Arsenal's Mustafi set for three weeks out

 

The Potters broke through when they were awarded a penalty after Joe Allen was elbowed by Granit Xhaka and Charlie Adam sent Petr Cech the wrong way from the spot.

But Arsenal levelled after 42 minutes when Theo Walcott rounded off a flowing move with a neat finish, and were in front when Mesut Ozil struck with a rare header after an excellent ball by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain minutes into the second half.

Substitute Alex Iwobi wrapped up three points for Arsene Wenger's side soon after Cech had thwarted Stoke with a good save from a Peter Crouch effort.

It's so good to have you back, Hector Bellerin

Afterwards, the boss spoke to Arsenal Player - and here's what he said:

on the win…

We are very happy because we had a difficult week. We went to West Ham and to Basel, then had a difficult home game. We went 1-0 down on top of that. We had a bit of a hesitant start but when we went 1-0 down I felt we came back well. It was good for us to come back to 1-1 and after that I believe in the second half we had a normal win, even if, at 2-1, Petr Cech made a good save from the header from Peter Crouch. But overall I thought the second half was convincing.

on Arsenal's strength in depth…

I think we have a united squad, even if it's frustrating for some players not to get the number of games they would like to. But everybody is on board. We can only do it all together. At the moment the energy levels in the team is very united and very together, and that's what we need if we want to be successful.

on whether Arsenal can sustain a title push…
We want it to be different. I believe since we lost at home to Liverpool, in the Premier League and Champions League we have been absolutely remarkably consistent. That's very difficult so it shows that the team is ready to focus and to give absolutely everything to win the games. Can we maintain that collective energy? I think we have a chance.

UCL Results: Ozil bantu kemenangan Arsenal | Leicester seri x kalah lagi | Dendam MC ke atas Barca terbalas

Bayer Leverkusen celebrated with their fans. They had just one win in five matches before kick-off

Tottenham's Champions League hopes are now in real danger as they slumped to another damaging home defeat by Bayer Leverkusen at Wembley.

Kasper Schmeichel is set for a spell on the sidelines after breaking his hand.

Ilkay Gundogan trebled his Champions League career goals tally on Tuesday

'We had to pretend it wasn't Barca'

City striker Sergio Aguero said: "If you give them the time and the space to think, they will beat you.

"You always have to respect Barca and any team would respect that, but we had to pretend that it wasn't Barca and try to play how we know, and win, which was the most important thing."

Mesut Ozil has scored four goals in his past two Champions League games, after scoring just three in his previous 22

Mesut Ozil scored a stunning late goal as a resilient Arsenal came back from 2-0 down to beat Ludogorets Razgrad and reach the Champions League knockout stages.

UCL : ARSENAL Meledak !!!!!!

**PFC Ludogorets Razgrad > 2nd in Bulgarian A Football Group (setakat 22/10/16)