Ozil names Kolasinac in controversial greatest Arsenal XI

8:48pm on Monday 11th January 2021
By Robin Bairner

Mesut Ozil has named the greatest Arsenal XI of players he has worked with at the club and has posted a number of surprising decisions in his team.

Ozil, never one to shy away from controversy, was asked for his greatest XI of Arsenal players he has turned out alongside during his time at the club.

He selected a team in a 4-2-3-1 formation, deploying himself in his favoured No.10 role – a position he has not taken up since being frozen out of the side by manager Mikel Arteta in March.

Elsewhere, though, there were some surprising picks that are sure to generate talk among Arsenal fans.

These begin in goal, where he has overlooked Bernd Leno in favour of Colombia international David Ospina, who managed only 29 Premier League matches of the club during a spell that lasted between 2014 and 2019. Ospina now plays with Napoli in Serie A.

Long-serving centre-backs Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker got the nod in the heart of the defence, but at left-back the decision to deploy Sead Kolasinac is a controversial one. Having arrived on a free transfer in 2017, the Bosnia international has rarely convinced after a strong start and has now been sent on loan to Schalke after becoming a bit-part player.

{related_stories}

The other eyebrow-raising call was to give Serge Gnabry a call in the right-midfield slot. Although a star at Bayern Munich, the 25-year-old struggled to earn any game time at the Gunners under manager Arsene Wenger.

Indeed, he was famously sent on loan to WBA, where manager Tony Pulis branded him not good enough.

He managed only 11 Premier League games, including 10 for Arsenal, and scored a single goal before departing for Werder Bremen, where he exploded into life.

Otherwise, Ozil’s team is without too many shocks, with Alexis Sanchez on the left of an attacking midfield three behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is continues to be the club’s offensive ace.