Mesut Ozil’s agent has slammed Martin Keown for his criticism of the German midfielder, branding him as ‘jealous’.
Keown made the comments about the 29-year-old when Arsenal bowed out of the Europa League in their semi-final against Atletico Madrid, saying that he ‘wasn’t fit to wear the shirt’ andthat he doesn’t think that he will feature again this season.
Ozil pulled out of the fixtures against Burnley and Leicester and looks set to miss out on Arsene Wenger’s farewell match against Huddersfield on Sunday.
As reported by Goal, Ozil’s agent, Dr Ekut Sogut slammed the former Arsenal defender as he believes his criticism is uncalled for and reeks of jealousy:
I think that Martin Keown feels that just because he used to play football, it gives him the right to attack the current generation of stars, Perhaps he just wants to remain relevant, or maybe it is due to jealousy. Is he envious about the money and exposure that current footballers have – I don’t know. But to sit there and criticise, and criticise, and criticise, time and time again, it’s getting a bit boring, in all honesty. He was an Arsenal reserve so left for Everton and Aston Villa because he wasn’t good enough. He returned to Arsenal but was still a reserve – always in the shadow of Adams, Bould, Dixon, Winterburn and then Campbell, Toure,Lauren,Cole. His behaviour towards [Ruud] Van Nistelrooy at Old Trafford brought shame on Arsenal, he will say it showed his passion when really it was bad sportsmanship. If Mesut or any other player in this era were to act like that, they would bring great shame upon themselves and their club. In the 2004 Invincible season, Arsene Wenger let him play the last minute vs Leicester to qualify for a winner’s medal. Otherwise, he would not be an Invincible because he didn’t play enough games. He wasn’t a real part of the team. Even Keown’s team-mate Ray Parlour said publicly he would have killed Wenger if he did not let him come on the pitch against Leicester. This is again representative of the behaviour against Manchester United – he claims passion, whilst it is really aggression.
