Arsene Wenger reveals he never lost faith in Mesut Ozil as Arsenal trounce Aston Villa
- Arsenal beat Aston Villa 3-0 in Premier League
- Mesut Ozil scored one and set up one
- Danny Welbeck scored his first goal for Arsenal
- Arsene Wenger says he never lost faith in the German midfielder
- Paul Lambert rued bad luck and virus that ravaged Villa's squad
Arsene Wenger insisted he never thought of resting Mesut Ozil after the German inspired Arsenal to victory at Aston Villa.
The World Cup winner scored his first goal of the season at Villa Park to spark a blitz which saw the Gunners net three times in just over three first-half minutes to seal a 3-0 victory.
Ozil set up Danny Welbeck for his first goal since his £16million move from Manchester United before Aly Cissokho's own goal sealed the win after just 36 minutes.
Mesut Ozil scored his first goal of the season for Arsenal and also assisted Arsenal's second goal
The ex-Real Madrid ace was heavily criticised after Arsenal's 2-0 Champions League defeat at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
But Gunners boss Wenger wanted to show faith in his £42.5m record buy and did not consider benching him.
'Not really no,' he said. 'I have many offensive players and you look to find the right balance. I gave (Alexis) Sanchez a rest because he's played many games and we have many experienced players who are top quality.
'You have to show him the confidence is there and he showed he can respond when he was under scrutiny.
'It's always a sensitive point, you don't know how people respond to that.'
Arsene Wenger said he never lost faith in the German as Arsenal beat Aston Villa 3-0
Welbeck also opened his account for the season to leave Wenger delighted.
'It was a similar goal to the one he scored in Switzerland (for England), it comes from the left and he pushed it in because the timing of his run was good,' he said.
'He had a very good performance, kept the ball well and had a good all-round game.'
Villa were ravaged by a stomach bug which ruled out Darren Bent, Nathan Baker and Ashley Westwood.
Midfielder Westwood withdrew in the warm-up and Andreas Weimann was sick and substituted at half-time while Brad Guzan and Fabian Delph were also ill despite playing.
Danny Welbeck scored his first goal for the club after his £16million move from Manchester United
'We had so much bad luck this week,' said boss Paul Lambert. 'Before the game we lost Darren, Nathan and Westy and then Andi at half time. Fabian had a bug and Guzan too.
'I knew we weren't best prepared because of the virus going around. A lot of the staff are not feeling good.
'It's a tough game for us when everyone is 100 per cent fit but the lads were running on empty.'
Ciaran Clark and Delph had both gone close during a fast start for Villa, who would have gone top of the Barclays Premier League with a win.
'If we had scored at the start it might have given us something to hang on to. The start we've had is great and there are a lot of positives at the moment,' Lambert added, after their first league defeat of the season.
'We have 10 points from five games which is a good return.'
Paul Lambert lamented the virus which ripped through his squad before they faced Arsenal
Most watched Sport videos
- The Rock begins MMA training camp ahead of filming 'Smashing Machine'
- Liverpool manager reflects on winning game against Tottenham
- Brendan Fevola's daughter reveals he still plays footy in the park
- Tom Brady pokes fun at Bill Belichick for his doorbell footage
- Dad or Ronaldo? World Snooker Champ Wilson's kids keep him humble
- Drew Bledsoe makes THAT Gisele joke during Tom Brady roast
- Dana White's bizarre rant against Netflix during Tom Brady roast
- Boy dies after being hit in the groin with a ball during cricket
- 'Hugely disappointing outcome': Spurs manager reflects on loss
- Crystal Palace manager reacts to strong win over Man Utd
- 'I did not enjoy today': Moyes rues West Ham defeat to Chelsea
- Boy aged 10 dies after freak cricket accident