Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has insisted that he does not need to ‘prove anything to anybody’ after more criticism.
Ozil joined Arsenal in a club-record £42m deal but came under heavy criticism last season which has followed into the current Premier League season.
However, the German World Cup winner, who scored against Aston Villa at the weekend has remained hit back at those critics and said that he ‘has nothing to prove’.
“I don’t play to prove anything to anybody, I play for Arsenal,” Ozil told DPA. “I have the feeling that I am criticised more, that happened to me in the Bundesliga and also at Real Madrid.
“We have only just started the season [at Arsenal], we have new players in key positions. The collective game, which is something I have a lot to do with, cannot then just work well from one day to the next.”
Ozil has mentioned his World Cup win and his appearance in the Premier League’s team of the season.
“[Just] 10 weeks ago I was elected to the team of the season in England.
“I was world champion then. It was the summer break and after a few games everything is called into question again. This is strange, but I know what I can offer.”