Ozil Feels No Pressure Playing for Arsenal
Mesut Ozil says playing in the Barclays Premier League for Arsenal hasn’t added any extra pressure on him, and he already feels at ease in English football.
The £42.5million signing played in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo and other superstars at Real Madrid but was asked to be the main man at Arsenal. And so far, he hasn’t faced any problems taking the charge in his new club’s midfield. He believes that’s because he never feels any pressure on the football field and loves doing what he does.
In an interview published on German Football Federation’s website DFB.de, Ozil is quoted as saying: “In football I feel generally very little pressure. I am doing what I enjoy most and what I do best. I love my work, so I just look forward to every game and do not concern myself so much with what others day or write.
“The pressure that I have, I mainly put on myself because I expect a high level of myself. But with this I can handle pressure very well and hide everything very well.”
Even though he has played just three games in the PL so far in his Arsenal career, he can already see why it is called the best footballing league in Europe.
“For me, the Premier League is the strongest league in the world. Even with my first few games, I’ve noticed how balanced the league is. This means that you will always be fully tested in each game – the games are very intense. I believe that I will benefit from it. Also striking is the atmosphere in the stadiums, the support of the fans – even the away fans – is impressive.”
Ozil’s arrival has inspired the Gunners to the top of their division. While some may already be dreaming of the title, the German is refusing to get carried away with such a fantastic start.
“Hold on! We are now first, I’m happy about that,” he added. “But we know that the season is still very long. To talk now about the championship is far too early. We continue to have a focused approach to each game and will try to do better as a team. If we do that, we have a great opportunity to achieve much. For that I will give everything.”
Jenkinson Talks About His Unique U-21 Situation
Carl Jenkinson is set to become one of the few players in world football to represent under-21 teams of two separate nations, and he says ‘it’s crazy’ how things have turned out for him.
The Arsenal right-back represented England at under-17 level before turning up for Finland’s under-21 team. He then switched back allegiance to the Three Lions last year and became a full international for them. He wasn’t picked by Roy Hodgson for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and so was shunted to the under-21 side, which means that he would now have the rare honour of playing for both Finnish and English under-21 teams.
Commenting on his unique situation, Jenkinson said: “It’s really strange and it’s mad to think I could be playing against Finland next month. It’s crazy, but football’s a strange game. It’s weird how things work out, but it would be a nice experience for me to play against some of the Finnish lads I played with before. It would be good.
“I look back on it as a fantastic experience. I played for England Under-17s and I was third choice at the time. I then had the opportunity to play for Finland. At the time I went there I was not playing regularly. I was in Charlton’s reserve and youth teams and playing international football – there weren’t many people in my team getting the experience I was.
“In terms of my career at the time it was great for me. I enjoyed my time there but at the same time when England came knocking, I had to follow my heart. I’ve always felt English at the end of the day.”
KP Confronts Wilshere on Twitter Over Nationality Remarks
Jack Wilshere has received some fresh stick for his controversial remarks regarding who should be eligible to represent England at international level.
This time, cricket star Kevin Pietersen – who plays internationally for England despite being born in South Africa – has questioned the logic behind the Arsenal midfielder’s thinking.
“Interested to know how you define foreigner? Would that include me, Strauss, Trott, Prior, Justin Rose, Froome, Mo Farah?” Pietersen asked Wilshere on Twitter. Not wanting to get into more trouble, the Gunner simply replied: “With all due respect Mr Pietersen the question was about Football! Cricket, cycling, athletics is not my field!”
Pieterson then tweeted: “Same difference. It’s about representing your country! In any sport!”
Somewhat backtracking on his comment, Wilshere then added: “Great respect for people like KP, Mo Farah and Wilf Zaha — they make the country proud.
“My view on football — going to a new country when ur an adult, & because u can get a passport u play 4 that national team — I disagree.
“Just saying my opinion, everyone is entitled to theirs…”
The 21-year-old’s original comments that stirred up the controversy were: “The only people who should play for England are English people. If you live in England for five years it doesn’t make you English. If I went to Spain and lived there for five years I am not going to play for Spain. We have to remember what we are.
“We are English. We tackle hard, are tough on the pitch and are hard to beat. We have great characters. You think of Spain and you think technical but you think of England and you think they are brave and they tackle hard. We have to remember that.”
He passed those comments when asked about Manchester United’s Belgium-born starlet Adnan Januzaj’s possible selection for the England national team.
Sagna Set for Arsenal Exit
Bacary Sagna has made up his mind about leaving Arsenal at the end of the season, according to a report published by the Daily Mail.
The website claim that the Gunners right-back has been disappointed by the club’s offer of just a one-year extension. Considering that he rejected big-money moves to clubs such as Real Madrid and Manchester City in recent years, he was expecting a bigger commitment and more money from the club. Instead, he was offered the standard one-year deal that is given to players in their 30s at the Emirates Stadium.
Sagna sees this as the final opportunity of his career to get a big contract, and his cause will be best served as a free agent. Paris St Germain, Monaco, Galatasary and Fenerbache are rumoured to be interested in him.
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