Unai Emery has described Mesut Ozil as a “very important player” for Arsenal, having suggested reports of a rift between the pair are “untrue”.
Ozil did not play in the 3-1 win over West Ham last weekend because of illness.
Newspaper reports claimed Ozil and Emery had been involved in a training ground bust-up, but the Arsenal manager told Sky Sports: “Throughout my career I have respect for the media, for newspaper, radio, TV, but there are a lot of people in the media and at not every moment is the information real.
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“It isn’t true the news. It’s easy for me to say it’s not true, our one is true, and I need to be quiet or say it.
“For me that is one thing; I don’t stop during my career for everything that the news says about me or the players. But in this situation with Mesut Ozil it is clear, he is OK, he has the commitment we want, he is a very important player for us and we want to help him to give us the best performance in each match and each moment.”
Ozil returned to training on Tuesday and is expected to be in the squad to face Cardiff on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
Cardiff vs Arsenal
September 2, 2018, 12:30pm
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The Gunners will be looking to record back-to-backs wins after defeats by Manchester City and Chelsea to start to the season.
“The commitment is very good from each player and for that I am happy,” said Emery. “There are positive things from the three matches and we are going to continue that, and also improve on the bad things.
“The players open their minds to watch the good things but also see the bad things and the mistakes and how we can improve.
“We need each match to continue what we are doing and to demand a high level. You have chances every match to show you are improving.”
Emery also hopes Arsenal can improve their “balance” against Cardiff, having looked defensively unsound at times in their previous matches.
“Our attacking moment is good. Against Chelsea and West Ham we had many chances, but we need to work on the balance.
0:33 Watch as Unai Emery's press conference is interrupted by a phone call
“To be more competitive we want to be organised with and without the ball. I don’t want to lose our attacking spirit, but if we need to get more balance we are going to work, and on Sunday I want to show we are better in this situation.”
Looking ahead to the challenge posed by Cardiff, who are yet to score this season, Emery added: “It’s a different match, but very difficult like each team in the Premier League.
“We are preparing well for the match but the difficulty we will have with their identity and style, means we will need to impose our idea on the pitch. It’s not easy because it’s at their stadium. We need to be very concentrated and do our job on the pitch.”
Watch Cardiff v Arsenal live on Sky Sports from 12.30pm on Sunday
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