Graeme Souness questions Mesut Ozil's 'lack of passion'

Graeme Souness has hit out at Mesut Ozil for his apparent lack of desire during Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.

The German playmaker failed to make any real impact on the game prior to being subbed 68 minutes into his 150th Premier League appearance for the club.

Ozil, wearing the captain's armband at Selhurst Park, was unhappy at being replaced with a quarter of the match to play.

Souness says that the 30-year-old should have shown similar passion during his time on the pitch.

"To be fair, Ozil showed a great deal of passion when he was subbed today," he told Sky Sports News. "That's the most I've ever seen him show in a game of football.

"You're the captain, when you're on the pitch show courage to get on the ball when you're not dominating. Show real passion, maybe you're not built for it but certainly make an attempt to make a few challenges and win the ball back for your team.

"He doesn't do that. I'm sorry to harp on about him a bit but a man with that much talent should influence games like that."

The draw in South London ended Arsenal's winning run at 11 matches.