Arsenal

What a difference a week makes. Just seven days ago, Mesut Özil was at the centre of a heated debate following his decision to retire from the German national football team. There were critics, supporters, and those who were simply too stunned to formulate an opinion. But at the National Stadium in Singapore last night, all the 29-year-old received was pure love and affection. Özil, who captained Arsenal, won the hearts of the 50,308-strong crowd (a majority of whom were Arsenal fans) as he put in an inspired display to help the Gunners defeat Paris Saint Germain 5-1 in their…

The talk of the town was present at the National Stadium last night, but he played no part in Arsenal’s International Champions Cup (ICC) opener against Atletico Madrid. All the 23,095-strong crowd got was a mere glimpse of Mesut Özil for just seven seconds – when the two big screens in the stadium zoomed in on him seated on the bench in the 71st minute. The 29-year-old, who created a stir after announcing his retirement from the German national football team last Sunday, smiled and gave a thumbs-up, resulting in the loudest cheer of the night from the crowd, most…

Mesut Özil is fully focused on the upcoming Premier League season with Arsenal, despite being caught in the centre of a raging debate following his retirement from international football on Sunday night. That was the view of former Gunners midfielder Ray Parlour, who is currently in Singapore in his role as a club ambassador for the International Champions Cup (ICC). Özil cited “racism and disrespect” shown towards him by the German Football Association (DFB) as the main reason behind his retirement in a lengthy, no-holds-barred statement released on his various social media pages. This led to widespread concerns that the…

The last time Arsenal were in town back in 2015, they created such a massive buzz that the 55,000-seater National Stadium was almost filled – with a record attendance of 52,107- for the final of their Barclays Asia Trophy match against fellow English side Everton. Three years on that record still stands, and there is no reason why it cannot be broken, especially with the Gunners back again and facing Spanish giant Atletico Madrid and French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain this time. The trio will be taking part in a pre-season club friendly tournament called the International Champions Cup, which is…