Arsenal manger Unai Emery has insisted new signing Denis Suarez is not a replacement for Mesut Ozil.
The German playmaker has only made 13 starts this season for the Gunners and appears to have fallen down the pecking order at the club since Emery arrived in the summer.
What can Arsenal expect from Denis Suarez? Five things you need to know…
- Suarez has joined Arsenal on loan until the summer with an option to buy.
- He leaves Barcelona after appearing 71 times for the Catalan giants.
- Suarez demonstrated his versatility at Barca, playing in central midfield, attacking midfield and on the flanks.
- Suarez is expected to adapt quickly to life in the Premier League, having begun his career in England, and he’s played under Emery before at Sevilla.
- Some believe Suarez’s arrival brings the end for Ozil, but Emery has insisted it will not affect the German’s place at the club.
Suarez, who arrived from Barcelona on Thursday, has been brought in to add options on the wing and Emery says he’s already adapted in training.
“I know the player and he started to train individually [on Thursday],” Emery told Goal. “[On Friday] he was with the group. It’s good, his adaption has been quick.
“He’s a player with quality and I think he can help us with his quality, and also his ambition to do something important here. It’s a good challenge for him to help us.”
“Firstly, he knows the language – he can speak English, which is important for us. Secondly, he played at Manchester City with the youth teams. He has a big experience in Spain, at Sevilla, at Villarreal, where he played in a semi-final against Liverpool in the Europa League.
When asked if Suarez was a direct replacement for Ozil, Emery added the Spaniard’s arrival is to address the Gunners’ problems on the wing.
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“It’s no change for him,” Emery said of Ozil. “[Suarez] is coming here because we have a lot of problems on the wing, we haven’t got players to play right or left – that is the reason.”
Emery is under increasing pressure to improve results after a miserable time over the festive period which saw the Gunners win three out of eight league games. The Londoners bounced back in January with victories over Chelsea and Cardiff City in their last two Premier League games.
Suarez will have his opportunity to hit the ground running against his former club Manchester City on Sunday.
Emery confirms club captain hierarchy
Ozil is not as highly regarded by Emery as he was under former manager Arsene Wenger and the World Cup winner has routinely been left out of high-profile games this season.
The German has also had to share the captain’s armband with three other Arsenal players and Emery has confirmed that Ozil is fourth on the skipper hierarchy.
He said: “I think it is very clear, [the media] mention it every week. We have four captains, I don’t know if you have come to my press conferences but I am going to repeat it but I think the others know it all.
“The first captain is Laurent Koscielny, he had injuries and couldn’t play. The second is Petr Cech, third is Aaron Ramsey, after this Mesut Ozil.
“When he is playing [with] Cech, Cech is captain; when he is playing with Laurent, Laurent is captain; when he is playing with Aaron, Aaron is captain and when he is playing, and another is not captain, then he is captain.
“In our last match, Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey didn’t play, so Mesut Ozil is captain. After that, they are Granit Xhaka and Nacho Monreal.”
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