How Ozil kicked White Hart Lane door in frustration – Wenger

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has said midfielder Mesut Ozil kicked a door at White Hart Lane in anger after Sunday’s defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, saying it showed his frustration at losing.

Reports this week claimed Ozil had reacted angrily after being singled out for a drugs test after the game, kicking a door so hard that stud marks were left on it.

But asked about the incident at a news conference on Thursday, Wenger said: “I am sorry that he kicked the door, but I can understand.

“I don’t think his frustration was towards the drug test, it was towards the fact that we lost the game and that is the only explanation I have.”

Wenger said he had not yet spoken to the Germany international about the incident but planned to do so because “it’s always good to get the player’s version [of events] as well.”

Ozil faced renewed criticism after the Spurs game, with some pundits accusing him of having gone missing in another big match.

Negotiations over a contract extension worth in excess of £250,000 a week are on hold until the summer, and Wenger did not give any update on either those talks or his own future.

He had said in January that he would announce a decision in March or April, but he told reporters: “Now we are in May. That means I was wrong.”

Fans who back Wenger staying have used the example of Manchester United as a demonstration of what can go wrong when a long-serving manager leaves.

But Wenger said: “It can, as well, go better from when I leave one day. You know, when you are such a long time at a club like I am, like [Sir Alex] Ferguson was, it is a little bit like when you have children.

“You want them to be happy. Even when you are not there any more, you want them to be happy. That is what you want.”