Arsene Wenger has defended Mesut Ozil after he received criticism from ex-Arsenal players, while issuing a parting shot to said legends in a recent press conference.

Ozil has been Arsenal’s most criticised player so far this season, I feel. Despite playing well against Stoke, he was branded a liability due to the role he played in the Potters’ goal. He then had a poor game against Liverpool, along with every other Arsenal player.

This was then followed by a statement from Ozil during the international break, which advised ex-Arsenal players in the media to “stop talking and start supporting”. That went down as well as you’d expect.

As always, Arsene Wenger has moved to defend the 28-year-old from the criticism by reminding pundits that they were hardly perfect during their respective playing days.

Many footballers go into punditry once their playing careers are over. Throwing around criticisms is part of the job, even if it comes off as hypocritical sometimes, but that shouldn’t stop constructive criticism and good post-match analysis.

Unfortunately, most pundits fail to achieve that and end up using the laziest cliches to make their points. Ozil certainly has his flaws but has plenty of qualities as well. It’d be nice if those qualities could receive a bit more attention from the media.