Arsenal: Arsene Wenger reveals injury concern as reason for Mesut Ozil substitution

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that midfielder Mesut Ozil was in danger of getting injured and that was why he was substituted midway through the second-half during the Gunners' 4-1 win over Liverpool on 4 April.

The north London club emerged comfortable winners over Brendan Rodgers's team with Ozil scoring the second goal of the game. The midfielder was an influential figure in the game and he also played a major role in Hector Bellerin's opening goal.

The French manager revealed that it was a decision between him and Alexis Sanchez as both had come into the game on the back of a heavy schedule with their respective countries during the international break, but Wenger chose the German due to injury concerns.

"He [Alexis] played two games with Chile, Ozil played two games with Germany and I could see that their legs had gone a little bit with 25 minutes to go," Wenger is quoted as saying on Arsenal's official site.

"I had a decision to make between him or Ozil and I subbed Ozil because I felt he was in danger of being injured. Alexis did fight very hard until the end," the Frenchman explained.

However, the Arsenal boss has showered praise on the midfield duo, who have combined well in recent games and helped the Emirates Stadium outfit record seven victories on the trot.

The 65-year-old manager understands that Ozil needs to improve the physical side of the game, but maintains that the midfielder is working hard on it.

On the other hand, Sanchez has received praise for his hard work for the team and Wenger has labelled the Chilean as the guy who "never gives up".

"What he [Ozil] does is always classy, intelligent and the timing of his passes is absolutely fantastic. He's agile, flexible and always available in between the lines."

"When you play with him in the team, you would love to play with him. He's sometimes criticised because of his physical challenges but I believe he's on the way and is improving on that at the moment. He makes a big effort to work hard and be disciplined for the team," the former Moncao boss added.

"He [Alexis] worked very hard. He gave absolutely everything and had a great first half. Alexis is a guy who never gives up," Wenger concluded.