Martin Keown has accused Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil of downing tools, suggesting the German playmaker has given up due to his impending exit next summer.

Another week, another pundit deciding that Ozil has given up at Arsenal and is proving to be a problem for Arsene Wenger. Whether it’s from his own information and just his observations, Martin Keown believes Ozil has mentally checked-out of Arsenal and that it’ll only get “messy” from here.

“I think he’s testing Wenger more than any other player has,” Keown said, reports the Metro. “I think it was Belarus the other week, he didn’t fancy going. He didn’t want to go. Suddenly he was injured again, he played nine minutes against West Bromwich Albion on the Monday, so how did he get injured there?

“I think in some departments he’s already left. Psychologically, mentally, he’s already left the football club. Maybe Wenger is now trying to do the best deal he can to get some compensation for him. I think he doesn’t want that sort of player around the youngsters in the group.

“They played exceptionally well at Chelsea, where [Alex] Iwobi did a really manful job – I know he hasn’t got the talent of Ozil, of course, but suddenly Arsenal could compete in both departments defensively and attacking -wise. It was probably the best performance I’ve seen in a couple of years.

“I was really impressed and it seemed like every player was giving their best. Sanchez is different. He loves playing football, just give him a ball and he’ll play and that’s all he wants to do. But Ozil, I think he’s downed tools, he wants to go and it’s going to get messy.”

The comments are a continuation of the attacks on Ozil that have been going on all season. Keown, especially, has been coming down hard on him since the start of the season. After the 1-0 defeat at Stoke, Keown accused Ozil of going through the motions and not working hard enough.

In the following days, he continued his criticism, branding him an “expensive luxury”, saying he wants to leave the club and, again, claiming he’s just going through the motions. Then, just last before the 2-0 win over West Brom, Keown made the claim that Wenger can’t trust Ozil anymore.

It’s clear that Ozil’s reluctance to extend his contract with the club has caused people to turn on him, despite the fact he’s doing nothing different than usual in my opinion. Meanwhile, Alexis is just an honest lad who wants to play football and nothing more. The double standard is incredible.