Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil have silenced critics, insists Arsene Wenger
by Sean Kearns, Sunday 11 Mar 2018 12:42 pm
Arsene Wenger believes Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil are ‘combining well together’ and have quashed talk that the pair can’t play together.
Mkhitaryan, 29, joined Arsenal in January in a swap deal for Alexis Sanchez and scored his first goal for the club against AC Milan on Thursday after a slow start to life at the Emirates.
The Armenian’s arrival has prompted a tactical shift in some matches with Ozil and Mkhitaryan playing off a central striker as opposed to the German having free rein at number 10.
Many questioned whether the pair could play with one another given they both prefer an attacking midfield position but Wenger believes the duo can play together in the long-term.
‘Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored his first goal for us and Mesut Ozill added two more assists [against AC MIlan],’
Wenger wrote in his programme notes for the Watford game.
‘They are combining well and I always think when you have a good understanding of the game you can always play together. ‘That’s a little bit the art of combining. The anticipation and technical quality.
‘I could never understand the idea that good players could not play together, which is basically what people were saying’.