Chronicle Editor
GERMAN playmaker Mesut Ozil must be desperate to play football again and can thrive in a welcoming environment at Turkish club Fenerbahce, former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said.
Ozil travelled to Turkey on Sunday to complete his move to Fenerbahce after saying goodbye to his Arsenal team mates at the club’s training ground.
The 32-year-old, who joined Arsenal under Wenger from Real Madrid in 2013, helped them win three FA Cups but has not played for the club since March and has been frozen out by current manager Mikel Arteta.
“I’m sure that he’s frustrated at not having played. His hunger must be absolutely (enormous) to play football again,” Wenger told beIN SPORTS.
“Mesut is a guy who needs a warm environment and I believe he will find that more than anywhere else in Turkey.
“Overall, he can provide the balls that the strikers need to win football games. If they do that well, they have a good chance of winning the league.”
Wenger believes Ozil’s short-term impact on Fenerbahce will depend on his fitness levels, having been out of favour for so long.
“If his basic fitness in training is good, it will only take him three or four games to be at his best,” the Frenchman said.
“The quality that he has is… vision in depth. He sees quickly, he decides quickly and he realises quickly what he sees. That is a quality you don’t find too often in our game.” — SuperSport
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