Per Mertesacker says Mesut Ozil was affected by the penalty miss

Mertesacker says Ozil was affected by penalty miss

Per Mertesacker has jumped to the defence of Mesut Ozil after the £42million star missed a crucial penalty for Arsenal as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat at home to Bayern Munich.

Only seven minutes had elapsed when Ozil had the opportunity to give Arsenal the advantage, but he saw his penalty saved by Manuel Neuer, before Arsenal self-destructed with Wojciech Szczesny getting himself sent off with an hour still to play.

Mertesacker had an on-field confrontation with Ozil when Arsenal were downed 6-3 by Manchester City and witnessed his compatriot fall out with another teammate on Wednesday, with Mathieu Flamini the latest to have heated words with the playmaker.

Mertesacker played down the incident however and backed Ozil to bounce back from his disappointment, insisting that sometimes these things just happen in football.

The defender said, “Against Bayern you must be ice cold, otherwise you have no chance.

“This is not a reproach to Mesut, he will be angry. We tried during the game to interact with him so he forgets quickly, but it was eating away at him. You could see that.

“Everyone is tired. It is up to everybody to encourage each other. It is not only up to Mesut.

“He will come back stronger. He is a massive player and we need him at his best. It is obvious that when you miss a penalty you are disappointed, but you have to get over it quickly. That is the main thing.

“It is not normal to come here and perform well in the first season over 50 games.”