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What's the story?
Following Arsenal's humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hand of Chelsea in the Europa League final last night, Cesc Fabregas has hit out at Mesut Ozil. The former Arsenal and Chelsea star feels the German doesn't have what it takes to be a leader and that he needs world-class players around him to perform .
In case you didn't know...
Goals from Olivier Giroud and Pedro Rodriguez and a brace from Eden Hazard enabled Chelsea to dispatch their London rivals Arsenal, who scored through Alex Iwobi, and lift the Europa League trophy in Baku. After a goalless first half, the game suddenly sprang into life after the break
Ozil was nowhere his best, with the German failing to influence the match in anyway possible. He was later subbed off by Arsenal boss Unai Emery. It has been a tough season for Ozil, with very few notable performances.
Heart of the matter
Fabregas, who has played for both Arsenal and Chelsea, was critical about Ozil's performance after the Europa League final.
"I think sometimes you just have it inside or you don’t have it. When he was at Real Madrid he was surrounded by top top players and one of the best players in the history of the sport in Cristiano Ronaldo.
"I’m not taking anything away from Mesut, he played top football there, but once you step down a little bit, because we can all agree Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich they are top three, you have to show yourself a little bit more because you don’t have the same quality around you."
The Spaniard, who currently plays for Monaco, also questioned Ozil's leadership qualities,
"The club buys you to be the actual leader around the club. I don’t think Mesut has that in him to carry. I don’t train with him everyday, but I don’t think he has it in him to be leader."
What's next?
With the season wrapped up for Emery and company , it is time for Arsenal to start thinking about the upcoming campaign. With Arsenal missing out on Champions league football next season, it remains to be seen how the Gunners react in the summer transfer window.
