Mesut Ozil took the easy option when he decided to leave Real Madrid for Arsenal, says former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes.
The former England international claimed the German could have worked harder to fight for his place in the side at Madrid and been in with a chance of winning titles on a regular basis.
And despite the facts showing Ozil has covered more ground than any other Arsenal player since his return from a three-month injury lay off, the Mancunian jumped on the bandwagon saying he is lazy.
In his column in the Independent, Scholes, who took the easy option throughout his career by opting to foul opponents rather than ever learn how to tackle properly, said: “Over the years, the big players who were really ambitious – Vieira, Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie – have all left. They left for the simple reason that Arsenal are not in it to win league titles any more. Those players have realised that if they want to win championships then they have to move elsewhere.
“It’s why I think Mesut Özil took the easy option joining Arsenal. Since he has been there you cannot doubt his quality but at times he looks like he is going through the motions, however much ground he covers. He needs a leader around him to get him going. At Real Madrid he had a chance of winning league titles. At Arsenal that is not on the cards.”
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger responded by saying: “Scholes would have loved to have played with a player like Mesut Özil.”
