Arsenal legend Martin Keown has criticised midfielder Mesut Ozil for crying ‘crocodile tears’ after the club’s disappopinting Europa League semi-final defeat by Atletico Madrid on Thursday night.

Ozil – who signed a new deal worth £350,000 a week in January – was slammed after Arsene Wenger’s side were knocked out of the tournament 2-1 on aggregate following the second leg at a raucous Metropolitano in Madrid.

A Diego Costa goal blasted past David Opsina moments before half-time sealed the tie to send Diego Simeone’s side through to the showpiece final in Lyon in two weeks time.

The result puts paid to Wenger’s last hope of bowing out of the North London giants with silverware while also confirming his final match will be in Yorkshire against Huddersfield Town a week on Sunday.

However Keown blasted the German international after the match.

He said: “Wenger has invested an awful lot of money in this player and I’m not seeing a performance to go with it. He wasn’t fit to wear the shirt for me tonight and I’ve seen this a lot.

“I’ve seen this a lot this season and it needs to be said because he needs to be dug out, because we expect better from him, he’s a World Cup winner and these are crocodile tears I’m seeing from the player, he’s not conning me.

“Listen, I’ve had my say on it and I feel that he’s not giving enough for Arsenal Football Club and maybe Wenger should come out and say a little bit more about some of these players that should have performed for him, and he hasn’t.”