'He's back!' - Martin Keown speaks out on Mesut Ozil's performance against Man United

'He's back!' - Martin Keown speaks out on Mesut Ozil's performance against Man United

The Arsenal star put in a commanding performance in the first half against Manchester United as Mikel Arteta's side went in two goals to the good.

Mesut Ozil put in a stunning first half performance against Manchester United as Arsenal went in 2-0 up at the break.

The midfielder played a part in both of the Gunners' first half strikes against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, with Nicolas Pepe notching the opener and Sokratis volleying home the second.

Mikel Arteta's side were in a commanding position at half-time, with Ozil gaining significant praise.

Ozil tracked back to rob United of the ball as the Gunners put together a flowing move that finished with Pepe's opener after eight minutes.

He then played a wonderful pass out to Ainsley Maitland-Niles that allowed the right-back to venture forward and win a corner, from which centre-back Sokratis volleyed home the Gunners' second.

And the increased effort and performance did not go unnoticed by former Arsenal star Martin Keown, who was commentating on the match.

"Off the ball, rarely have you seen Ozil work this hard," Keown said on BT Sport.

"He's the spare man, working between the lines.

"He's back. He digs this ball out [to Ainsley Maitland-Niles] and most players wouldn't even see that."

Keown has been a prominent critic of Ozil in the past, with Ozil's agent taking issue with the former defender's words about his client.

"[Keown] said that Mesut was not loyal and would run down his contract and leave the club. Good prediction - he signed a new contract," Erkut Sogut told Goal.

"We are responding to you not because your words hurt us but because they are wrong. You cannot break us as you cannot influence the fans and people at the club, all of whom love Mesut."