The fine form of Alexis and Mesut Ozil has been linked in part to the extended rest they got after a busy summer on international duty.
At his press conference on Friday, Arsene Wenger reflected on his cautious selection policy and how it has benefited both players - and the team.
on seeing the benefits of resting Ozil after the Euros…
Yes, I have to make the right decisions and be convinced by the things I do, so that is what I do.
on whether he got that one right…
I think so, because I have a lot of experience on that front. I have managed players who go to the big tournaments for a long, long time and I gave a longer break to Alexis - I gave him five weeks because he had an ankle injury as well. I believe it took them some time to come back to their best but it was the right decision.
on having fewer injuries…
I believe we have improved tremendously on the muscular injury front in the last two three or years. Last year we were a bit unlucky with the knocks we got, and the joint injuries we got. It was down to blocks in the game. On the muscular front, I think we have done much better and hopefully we can continue that.
on what the club is doing differently…
It is not just one measure, but it is to analyse the level of fatigue, of recovery, the preparation, the prevention. Everything is a bit more scientific and maybe that makes it a bit more predictable as to what will happen. We know the players very well because we have had data for a few years and we can analyse when players got injured, the repetition of a few signs and some warnings that we can now know much better about them now.
More polls to come later in the season!
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