OZIL DEFENDS MAN UTD RECRUIT SCHWEINSTEIGER

Ozil defends Man Utd recruit Schweinsteiger

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil believes Germany teammate Bastian Schweinsteiger is being unfairly judged following his move to Manchester United.

Debate has raged as to whether Schweinsteiger's 31-year-old body can hold up to the demands of the Premier League after he left boyhood club Bayern Munich for United in July.

Schweinsteiger — yet to complete a full match as a United player — produced a classy second-half cameo as Louis van Gaal's men qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage via a 4-0 second-leg win at Club Brugge.

Ozil is in no doubt that the Germany captain will silence his critics over the course of the season.

"The drastic interim judgment in [the] English press is not fair towards him," Ozil told Germany's Sport 1. "He certainly needs some time to adjust to Premier League. Just allow him a bit of time.

"Basti has shown the whole world at the World Cup what a leader he is, most of all in the final. Whenever the English media writes about Bastian, they put a World Cup winner before his name. He's now the German world champion who should make the difference for United."