Sead Kolasinac believes Mesut Ozil hit back at his critics with a match-winning performance for Arsenal against Burnley.
Gunners head coach Unai Emery named the 30-year-old captain on his first Premier League start since November 11 and Ozil played a key role in the home side securing a 3-1 victory, delivering a sublime pass in the build-up to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 14th-minute opener before assisting substitute Alex Iwobi’s late third.
In between, Aubameyang added a second before Ashley Barnes briefly gave Burnley hope, but Arsenal secured an important win following back-to-back defeats to Southampton in the League and Tottenham in their EFL Cup quarter-final.
Ozil has been linked with a January move away from the club after being left out of the Spurs game for what Emery described as “tactical reasons”, but Kolasinac insists his team-mate is unaffected by speculation over his future.
“That’s the case when you’re a big star, like Mesut is,” he said. “Of course, there are always negative headlines but, as a team, we don’t pay attention to them and Mesut doesn’t either.
“That’s what’s most important. We’re all behind Mesut - all the staff, all the players. If negative things are written, then that’s just what happens.
“In life, not everything is positive - sometimes there are negatives written about you too, and he’s had that. But on Saturday with his performance, he’s quietened a few critics.
“Mesut’s not the sort of player who will scream at you in public just to show the people on the outside that he tries to push us on. He’ll speak in the dressing room, he’ll go to every player individually.
“With his quality, he brings a lot to this team. He’s very important for us as a captain and as a player.”
Ozil found Kolasinac with a stunning ball made more impressive on television replays which showed the Bosnian had only just entered the penalty area when the ball left Ozil’s foot.
“It was unbelievable,” he said. “We all know Mesut’s qualities and I only actually made that run because I saw that he had the ball.
“Not many players would have been able to play that pass. He can, and when I saw him get on the ball, I knew he was going to find me. It was a brilliant pass from him.”
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