Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has insisted midfielder Mesut Ozil should not be made a scapegoat for his side's failings, after he was again the subject of criticism following his side's 2-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday.
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It was not the first time the form and contribution of Ozil have been questioned since his club record 42 million pound move from Real Madrid in the summer of 2013, yet Wenger is convinced his World Cup winning midfielder will silence his doubters over the course of this season.
"Why should Ozil be a scapegoat? We've lost one game since April 1," Wenger responded when quizzed about the form of the 25-year-old midfielder ahead of his side's game against Aston Villa on Saturday.
"We have come out of a very difficult preparation period with decisive games. We had very difficult games against Besiktas [Champions League playoff match]. I don't know -- a scapegoat for what?
"Fans need to be patient. You want your best players in every game but you have to be united and go through hard periods. The criticism [of Ozil] is unfair because it's post-World Cup. It takes a few months for them to get back to their best.
"What is difficult to manage today is that everybody knows absolutely everything and everybody judges people definitely on one game. You have to accept that football is played by human beings who have ups and downs like you have in your life.
"You have plenty of tacticians in the world who have managed zero games. You have to accept their opinion -- they might be right, they might be wrong as well. They have to accept that.
"We live in a world where everybody has an opinion and we have to live with that. At the end of the day, somebody always has to make a decision and that's the guy who is responsible."
Wenger went on to urge Arsenal supporters to get behind Ozil rather than criticising his performances, as he suggested the Gunners faithful can play a role in easing the German back to top form.
"A club is a union between players, supporters and directors," added Wenger. "You have to be united and sometimes go through periods together where it goes a bit less well.
"They should not be concerned and just support him. I understand that you want your best players always to make the difference in every single game and we all go through periods where we are a bit less good."