Thierry Henry tells Mikel Arteta he has to face Mesut Ozil’s situation at Arsenal

Thierry Henry praised Mikel Arteta for bringing “passion” and “happiness” back to Arsenal’s team – but insists the Gunners boss “must look after” Mesut Ozil.

Relations between Arteta and Ozil appear to be at an all-time low after the German midfielder was banned from Arsenal’s Premier League and Europa League sides.

The omissions led to Ozil’s agent hitting Arteta for perceived unfair treatment, but the Spaniard has repeatedly defended his handling of the player.

Ozil, 32, has entered the final year of his contract with the Emirates and Henry has become the latest Gunners legend to ask for clarity on the situation.

Looking at Arsenal’s recent managerial appointments, Henry said CBS Sports : “So now it was Unai Emery and now Mikel Arteta.

“It is not easy to pursue Arsene Wenger. It is not easy at all. With Mikel I see that the passion has returned, a certain happiness has returned, it gives them a good solidity.

“Now he has to deal with the Ozil case and other cases, but that doesn’t happen overnight.

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“When you are on a team with someone, you have to make sure you can cancel some things, because it just doesn’t happen overnight.

“So he needs to involve the players he needs to adapt to his system and that takes time. And what’s more, this league takes even longer because the competition is crazy.”

While Henry would like to see the clarity of Ozil’s situation, he is impressed by how Arteta forged an “identity” at Arsenal in a similar way to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

The Frenchman added: “First of all you can see an identity and a being together. As I always say, a game is long, to build a team, it doesn’t happen overnight.

“I always use Klopp as an example. I remember when he first arrived he couldn’t hold an advantage. It took him years to be a competitive team.

“Now, everyone respects what he does and rightly so because he was a hell of a manager.”

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