Ozil: Arsenal 'screwed up' its title hopes
With eight matches left in the season and a near-insurmountable 11-point gap behind table-toppers Leicester City, Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil admits, "We screwed up ourselves."
The talismanic purveyor of perfectly weighted passes lamented the lost opportunities of Arsenal's 2015-16 campaign, though the World Cup-winning midfielder remains optimistic.
"We did not play to our potential in the games against the so-called smaller teams. You immediately get punished for that in the Premier League," Ozil said, according to the Telegraph's Matt Law.
Losses against Swansea City and West Brom may prove to be the thorn in Arsenal's hopes of winning a first top-flight title since 2003-04.
"But we still have a chance of winning the title. We have to hope Leicester and Tottenham slip up and then make the most of it."
Arsenal holds a game in hand on the two teams ahead of it in the table, and besides the impending disappointment of surrendering the league after sitting top before the holiday run-in, the Gunners will seek to avoid finishing behind their north London rivals for the first time in two decades.
Regardless of how the remainder of the season plays out, Ozil concedes that reinforcements are needed in the summer, as the new television deal will make all the club's counterparts flush with transfer cash.
"Teams will only get stronger and Arsenal will have to strengthen as well. This season has shown that we struggle when we are missing a number of key players. We cannot allow this to happen again next season.
"We will only see more good players in the Premier League in the future due to the new TV deal."
The former Real Madrid star adds that a victory for Arsenal would also be one for embattled gaffer Arsene Wenger, who's been the target of more derision this season than at any point in his 20-year tenure with the club.
"I would be delighted for Wenger if we win the title," said Ozil. "He played a major role in my decision to join Arsenal.
"He was desperate to sign me. Everybody knows he is an extraordinary manager. He is always hungry for success, has a lot of experience and always takes his time for the players. He helps players develop."