Football
Mattias Karen, Arsenal correspondent 6y

Arsene Wenger: Alexis Sanchez 'on fire,' Mesut Ozil 'superb' at Everton

Arsene Wenger heaped praise on star duo Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez after Arsenal's 5-2 win at Everton on Sunday, saying both are back to their best after regaining full match fitness.

Wenger said Sanchez was "on fire" against Everton and called Ozil "superb" after they orchestrated the comeback victory at Goodison Park.

Sanchez set up Ozil to make it 2-1 and then rounded off the win himself in injury time, with the duo combining to tee up Alexandre Lacazette for the Gunners' third goal as well.

It was the first time Sanchez, Ozil and Lacazette started a game together and Arsenal's attack unsurprisingly looked the best it has all season.

"[Sanchez] was on fire," Wenger told the postmatch news conference. "I believe that he comes back from injury and has worked very hard, Ozil as well. The two of them were sharp physically, very mobile and if you have their individual quality, that makes them dangerous against any defender."

The duo's commitment to Arsenal has been widely questioned as both have refused to sign new contracts and could leave on free transfers next summer.

Ozil, in particular, had been heavily criticised after a poor start to the season and missed a good chance to kill off the game at Watford last weekend after coming on as a substitute in the 2-1 loss.

But Wenger said Ozil showed his full abilities on Sunday.

"He was superb. Agile, quick, intelligent. Always at the service of the team with his quality of his passing and when he is at that level, he is an exceptional football player," Wenger said.

The Arsenal boss, who celebrated his 68th birthday on Sunday, also played down reports that Ozil is in talks with Manchester United about joining the club when his contract runs out.

"We live in an environment where we have to deal with the news and the players and myself have only always one response, which is what's happening on the football pitch," Wenger said. "When you see Mesut on the football pitch like he is today, enjoying his game like he is today, it's difficult to believe these kind of things."

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