Arsenal star Mesut Ozil slammed by Graeme Souness for lack of courage and passion
The Gunners ace also faces the wrath of the Arsenal faithful after his reaction to being hauled off against Crystal Palace
MESUT OZIL has been slammed by Graeme Souness for his lack of courage and passion during his sides' 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park this afternoon.
The Arsenal midfielder underwhelmed after being rested midweek and he vented his frustration at being replaced by angrily throwing his gloves to the ground in a strop.
Ozil, 30, skulked over to the touchline and attempted to barge past manager Unai Emery, who could only resort to patting him on the chest, before slumping in his seat on the bench.
The midfielder had been handed the captain's armband for the second Premier League fixture in a row but failed to influence proceedings in the same way he had during Monday night's 3-1 win against Leicester.
A quick-fire double from Granit Xhaka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had put the Gunners on course to extend their impressive 11-game-winning run after an early Luka Milivojevic penalty.
However, former German international Ozil was hooked in the 68th minute and Arsenal soon succumbed to another Milivojevic strike from the spot.
Sky Sports pundit Souness, 65, then wasted little time in ripping into Ozil in a post-match rant after the midfielder finished the game having completed just one key pass for Arsenal.
"To be fair, Ozil showed a great deal of passion when he was subbed today," he said on Sky Sports. "That's the most I've ever seen him show in a game of football.
"You're the captain, when you're on the pitch show courage to get on the ball when you're not dominating.
"Show real passion, maybe you're not built for it but certainly, make an attempt to make a few challenges and win the ball back for your team.
"He doesn't do that. I'm sorry to harp on about him a bit but a man with that much talent should influence games like that."
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This is the second time this week that Souness has had strong words to say about Ozil, having accused the playmaker of going "absent when Arsenal are not dominating games".
He told Monday Night Football: "When Arsenal are not dominating games he's absent.
"His football was excellent, he's got a football brain and technique that few people have. He does go missing in games where Arsenal don't dominate the ball and in the big games I'd question if he's turned up."
His words drew a strong response from Ozil, who claims he "just laughs" at the criticism, only caring about the opinion of his coach.