Unai Emery has denied rumours that a rift with Mesut Ozil was the reason the German was not in Arsenal’s matchday squad on Saturday.
Ozil was surprisingly absent from the team as Emery picked up his first win in charge of the Gunners, beating West Ham 3-1 at the Emirates.
When asked about Ozil’s omission, and if it was due to a training ground argument, Emery was quick to dismiss the claims and said the player was missing due to illness.
“Why is this information (out there)? It isn’t true. I don’t know who is telling you this information,” he said.
“He sat down with me and we decided that he would not play. He left training because he was going to his home because he is sick.
“Today he was here, I told him to come in if he feels better and he feels better today and before the match he was with the team.”
Although it was far from a vintage performance, the result saw Emery pick up his first three points as manager, although admits there are things to improve upon.
“The three points are very important today and in the 90 minutes, there were good things but also things to improve,” he added.
“After two defeats, today was an important win for our supporters and after going 1-0 down, the team improved during the match and to win 3-1 is important too.
“The substitutes made the difference in the second half so for that, I am happy, but I know we need to improve things.
“We to improve tactical things and earn the confidence for the players after two defeats. After going 1-0 down in the first half, we needed calm and to make sure this confidence was not lost.
“I think then, the team showed every supporter that they wanted to win.”
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