Arsenal manager, Unai Emery, praised Mesut Ozil’s performance in their 3-0 win over BATE Borisov, but admitted he cannot guarantee him a regular start.
Emery said Ozil was “important and positive”, as the Gunners overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit, to secure their place in the Europa League’s last 16.
Ozil played his first 90 minutes of 2019, with his only other two outings since Boxing Day having come off the bench, because of a combination of illness and minor injuries.
“Today he showed what he wants.
“If he is available, like the last two weeks, we are going to play a lot of matches and maybe sometimes we need him in the starting XI and sometimes on the bench because we have a lot of players to also help us.
“His spirit like today is good and his quality and capacity and combination with some players is good.
“I think we need every player and today playing Mesut was important and positive,” Emery told BT Sport after the game.
Ozil himself wrote on Twitter: “Such a good feeling to be back on the pitch again. Great performance from the whole team overall.”
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