Wenger says Ozil 'needs to find confidence' ahead of Bayern clash

With Arsenal set for a Bavarian trip to play Bayern Munich, one would assume German World Cup winner Mesut Ozil would play a part in Arsene Wenger’s plans for the first match of a two-legged tilt.

Perhaps not.

“I felt he was not completely confident technically,” Wenger told reporters, courtesy of the Guardian. “That’s a problem because you think he can deliver something special.”

Yet to score in 2017 after a red-hot start to the season saw the Gelsenkirchen-born playmaker bag six goals in his first ten matches in all competitions, Ozil has looked off the pace.

With his drop in form coinciding with Arsenal’s dire stretch of unconvincing results, Wenger concedes that something is amiss with his star table-setter.

“He did things that he is not used to doing. He needs to find confidence again. He misses chances that don’t look unfeasible,” the Frenchman added.

Wenger also admitted that he spoke to Ozil about his form on Friday, with the recent displays of benched trio Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, and Lucas Perez only complicating Arsenal’s squad selection conundrum.

After winning a Champions League group for the first time since 2011-12, Arsenal holds a slight advantage over the Bavarian giant courtesy of playing the second leg at home, and with that, Wenger appears to understand how vital a positive performance in the first leg is despite his side’s recent dip in form.

“Experience helps to anticipate the problems that you face when it doesn’t work,” Wenger offered. “You know that if you do not win the confidence drops even more. That is not what is needed to go into a game like Bayern in the Champions League.”