"Treated totally unfairly" - Former Arsenal star claims Mesut Ozil was a target at the club

Former Arsenal man Mesut Ozil was treated totally unfairly, according to his former teammate Bacary Sagna.

The former French player was speaking in an interview given to the website midnite.com.

When asked about Mesut Ozil, Bacary Sagna had this to say:

"Mesut Ozil was treated totally unfairly in his time at Arsenal because all the blame was on him when he played with 10 others. The vibe at the club back then was different, Arsene Wenger left, so the club had to build to become one of the best again."

The 39-year-old further added:

"Ozil was a top-quality player and was one of Arsenal's best players a few years ago. When a manager like Arsene Wenger leaves, it will always be a big blow to the team. Man United still have not found their way since Sir Alex Ferguson left."

Sagna also feels that the Gunners are currently one of the best clubs in the world:

"Any big club will need time to recover, I said two years ago Arsenal will be champions soon, now they're one of the best clubs in the world."

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How did Mesut Ozil do at Arsenal?

Mesut Ozil

Ozil, who moved from Real Madrid to join the Gunners for £42.3million in 2013, became the most expensive German player at the time.

The German has played 254 times for the Gunners, scoring 44 goals and assisting 78 times. The former Werder Bremen player won three FA Cups and helped end the Gunners' nine-year trophy drought, while recording the second-most assists ever (19) in a Premier League season (2015/16).

Ozil had a fractured relationship with head coach Unai Emery at the time, who publicly questioned the player's motivation. Due to various issues, Ozil was not a regular part of the Gunners' team as he continued to languish on the bench for big games.

Ozil played a total of eight Premier League seasons for the Gunners, however, he did not feature in a single match in the 2020-21 season.

He joined as a free agent for Turkish club Fenerbahce after his contract with the Gunners was terminated six months prematurely, with the player reportedly forgoing part of the £7 million (€7.9 million) owed to him by the Gunners. The German attacking midfielder currently plays for Super Lig club Istanbul Basaksehir.