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Ray Parlour has urged Mesut Ozil to up his game ahead of some crucial fixtures that could have a major bearing on their success this season.
Ozil has come under a lot of criticism recently from sections of the Arsenal support after a run of poor form and it comes at a bad time with Arsenal facing Liverpool in the FA Cup on Sunday before taking on reigning European champions Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.
And Parlour feels that Ozil will have a major role to play in Arsenal’s run-in to the season, but needs to up his game to justify the £42million shelled out by the club for his services in the summer.
The Romford Pele told Goal: “Ozil started really well and you can see the quality he has got, but he has got to improve quickly because they need results.
“If they don’t get results you can quickly slip away. They’ve still got every chance; they’ve got to go to Chelsea, they’ve got Manchester City at home and it’s still feasible for them to go on and win the league.
“He’s taking time to settle in. (Robert) Pires had a poor first season and after that he was fantastic. He’s just getting to grips with it.
“The Premier League is a lot quicker; in Spain they build up the play a lot slower. They dictate the pace of the game a lot at Real Madrid and in the last third they’re lightening when they change pace.
“It’s a different way of playing football. This league is a lot harder, a lot more competitive. If you’re playing somebody down the bottom, Crystal Palace for example, you’ve got to be right at it. If you go to Selhurst Park you know you’re going to be in a game.
“When you’re at Real Madrid or Barcelona and you’re playing the bottom teams it’s usually four or five nil, a stroll in the park. Here it’s a lot more competitive. He’s getting used to that.
“He’s got to get used to the whole scenario of the quick pace, the competitive games, the tough games and I’m sure he will come to terms with it.”
Mesut Ozil has claimed eight assists this season, with only two players recording more, but only two of those have come since the beginning of December.
