Steven Gerrard has claimed that Mesut Özil is a liability away from home for the Gunners.

Özil was one of many Arsenal players who didn’t reach a high level in the match against Stoke, as the Potters ran out 1-0 winners.

Arsenal player ratings v Stoke – who was worse, them or the ref?

Although a penalty, that wasn’t given (but was clearly seen by the referee), and a controversial offside decision both could’ve brought goals, in general Arsenal didn’t make the right choices in the final third, and Mesut was part of that just as much as everybody else.

But, it was defensively that Gerrard felt Özil should’ve done more, telling Sky Sports (via Daily Mail): “I just worry about his reaction and body language – when the ball is turned over he offers his team-mates zero. Away from home he’s a liability – he just doesn’t do enough.

“It’s clear to see that out of possession he doesn’t want to know – he only wants to be on the ball, trying to create and make things happen. But world class players do both – when they lose possession they put a shift in for their team-mates and it was clear that didn’t happen.”

Mesut certainly wasn’t very involved in a defensive sense on the day, with one interception and one pass his only contributions in Arsenal’s defensive third. However, this isn’t necessarily uncommon for a wide-forward, and Özil wasn’t as culpable as many others in the only goal Arsenal conceded.

Ultimately, Arsenal had 77% possession on the day, so there wasn’t much of a chance for Özil to be involved defensively in the first place. But the one time that Stoke seriously threatened Arsenal, Mesut was no more able to do anything to prevent the goal than the rest of the team, and it was all too easy for the home side.