Unai Emery Defends Mesut Ozil's Actions During Arsenal's 2-2 Draw With Crystal Palace

Unai Emery has leapt to the defence of Mesut Ozil after the midfielder reacted poorly to being substituted during Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on
Unai Emery Defends Mesut Ozil's Actions During Arsenal's 2-2 Draw With Crystal Palace
Unai Emery Defends Mesut Ozil's Actions During Arsenal's 2-2 Draw With Crystal Palace /

Unai Emery has leapt to the defence of Mesut Ozil after the midfielder reacted poorly to being substituted during Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Arsenal looked set to be coming away from Selhurst Park with all three points, but a late penalty which was converted by Luka Milivojevic meant that the points ended up being shared.

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Chloe Knott - Danehouse/GettyImages

Ozil was taken off midway through the second half and reacted by throwing off his gloves and storming straight to the dugout - something Emery had no issues with.

“It's normal, not happy. Not happy because the result was not good at the end. But it's normal," Emery said, as per the Independent.

"The players...I like the players showing us character when we are not playing well. When I chose him, it was 2-1 to us but usually every player wants to continue playing.”

The draw spelled the end of Arsenal's remarkable winning streak, but Emery went on to claim that the result was by no means a disaster for his side.

“This draw is just because the teams deserved, a minimum the draw. We were in control when they scored their first, not doing a lot in the attacking third, but in control of the match.

"In the second half we scored two goals from two individual actions and then, a lot of minutes on the games for holding this result with them pushing, with their supporters, and every player attacking us.

“In this moment, we needed the control because we lost possession. We needed to score the third goal to be calm. But we cannot do good chances for this and, when they drew, I think... I want to push, to find a moment for us to win the match, but we cannot. This draw is what both teams deserved.”


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