Mesut Ozil will continue to be criticised so long as doesn’t perform in the big games, says Ian Wright.

Never content with just praising Ozil for a fine display against Everton, Wright had to bring up his so-called ‘big game’ performances.

The former Arsenal striker was reacting to a statistic on Match of the Day 2 on Sunday night.

Ozil has now provided 43 assists in 123 Premier League games, which is more than any other player in that time.

“It’s a fantastic statistic,” Wright said, as reported by the Daily Star.

“The thing that’s going to happen with Mesut is this.

“As long as he doesn’t do it in the so-called bigger games, then whenever he does it against an Everton side that are trying to find their form, people are going to point their finger at the fact Everton aren’t playing well.

“I am desperate for him to do that in those bigger games.

“I’m desperate for Mesut to stay at the club and continue in this way against everybody.”

The question is:

Does Ozil really not perform in big games?

In games against Paris St. German and Bayern Munich in the Champions League last season, the German failed to register a goal or an assist.

In games against the top six in the Premier League last season, he scored just once in a 3-0 win over Chelsea, and managed assists in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham and a 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

While those numbers aren’t very impressive, the decline is more recent than some realise.

During the 2015/16 season, Ozil netted against Bayern Munich and Manchester United (twice), while also providing five assists in games against United, Manchester City and Tottenham.

Given his primary role in the team is to create chances for other players, his recent record in big matches isn’t that bad.

His big game performances will be under scrutiny again when Arsenal take on Manchester City and Tottenham in November.