Sammer: Leave Gotze in peace

Bayern Munich’s sporting director Matthias Sammer has called for Mario Gotze to be left “in peace” as speculation continues regarding his future at the Allianz Arena.

The former Borussia Dortmund man has fallen somewhat out of favour under Pep Guardiola with the close-season arrival of Douglas Costa set to further threaten his chances of starting regularly.

Gotze featured for the final 25 minutes of Friday’s opening-day Bundesliga victory against Hamburg before playing much of Monday’s friendly win at Dynamo Dresden.

And – amid reports of interest from Arsenal – Sammer sought to quell speculation of Gotze leaving Bayern.

“Can we agree on one thing? We let Mario just play football,” Sammer told Bild.

“He enjoys our confidence, but now leave the boy in peace. It will be better if we do not talk about it constantly.

“If you want to win something big, you need just these players. Dealing with them is even more important than with those who play.”

Gotze’s relationship with Guardiola has been the subject of scrutiny in recent weeks, with the midfielder having suggested the Bayern boss does not talk to him enough.

The 23-year-old later took back the comments, adding he was “happy” and “comfortable” at the club.