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Arsene Wenger leaps to Mesut Ozil’s defence after Arsenal star is accused of ‘lacking fight’

Arsene Wenger has defended Mesut Ozil after he was criticised for ‘lacking fight’ during Arsenal’s defeat at Stoke.

The Gunners were defeated 1-0 on Saturday night as they suffered their first loss of the season, with the Germany international being singled for criticism by fans and pundits.

But Wenger leapt to the defence of Ozil.

“Well, I think he did fight,” said Wenger in his post-match press conference. “Overall, it’s difficult to single anybody out.

“I believe we had many, many chance and personally I don’t think he deserves it [the criticism].”

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown, working for BT Sport who televised the match, said that the side ‘cannot afford to carry Ozil’ in a fierce criticism of the 28-year-old.

"Your [Dennis] Bergkamps, [Thierry] Henrys and [Patrick] Vieiras they would give you everything in the game, both sides of the game, they would put their foot in, and they could play.

"Arsenal can’t afford to carry someone like Ozil. He wants to have a good look at himself because he’s not kidding us watching the game, it’s not real.

"It felt like he was going through the motions today a lot of the time and I think in the goal they concede shows that.

"If he has a quick reaction he can get back into position and help Xhaka but he doesn’t react quick enough."