If you follow Mesut Ozil on Instagram, you would think everything is merry in North London. Making sure he posts pictures of him smiling in training or ‘working hard in the gym’, whilst quoting legends of the club like Dennis Bergkamp, bringing adulation from his most adored fans.
However, go back to last Thursday and Arsenal slumped to one of their most embarrassing defeats in recent years against Bate Borisov, and there have been countless forgettable losses in the last few years. Ozil didn’t travel, does that put the blame onto Unai Emery, is Ozil being rightly left out, is this a problem that didn’t need to happen?
The blaring blunder in Belarus was the 100th game Ozil has missed for Arsenal due to injuries, illness or now being left out for ‘tactical reasons’. What’s more worrying is that the German enigma has now missed more games than he’s played this season, a sign that he doesn’t seem to be Emery’s man, and is favoring a Fortnite stream to a tricky trip to Belarus. Just four goals and two assists in 18 games isn’t a staggering return, but when you think of Arsenal’s best performances this season the majority have involved their number 10.
The exception of that is the 4-2 thrilling North London derby win over Spurs. The intensity, pressing and ruthless approach from Arsenal had all watching purring, was this the start of a new era under the Spanish tactician? Well since that memorable victory and their last win in a 22-game unbeaten run, they’ve lost seven of 16 games, of which Ozil has started just four. Arsenal were so imperious against their bitter rivals back in November, some were believing they would be better off without Ozil, but it looks to have been the occasion of a derby that ramped up the performance.
If that is the case, then surely for Arsenal to have an upturn of fortunes from now until the end of the season, Mesut Ozil must be fitted into a system where the team can utilise his outstanding qualities. His showings against Leicester City, Liverpool, Burnley, Watford and Everton reminded all why Arsenal paid a club record fee for him six years ago. If you flip that around, most of those fixtures were back in September and October with the consistency of his game being fluctuating since, the tale of his Arsenal career in reality.
Where does that leave Unai Emery? It’s clear to anyone the squad needs desperate investment and revolving doors being utilised to ship some out whilst bringing fresh faces into London Colney. Whilst that isn’t readily available to him, he needs to find the best system to get the best out of what he has, and up until the statement win against Spurs you would say he was. But, in the past three months or so, it has been unconvincing, dreary and uninspiring with a win over Chelsea being the rare glimmer of light. You can blame a severe amount of defensive injuries, but tactically Emery has been chopping and changing between a back-three and back-four line-up too often and breaking up partnerships that were thriving during the season, mainly in midfield.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alex Iwobi have been scapegoats. Iwobi is tireless and always trying to supply the forward line, though his end product constantly lets him down, as for the former, he is out of position at wing-back and some expect him to be of Premier League standard when he is still a developing prospect. The amount of abuse, yes I would say abuse, has been shocking, to academy graduates still with a lot of improvement to make. The midfield has missed an experienced creative hub, Aaron Ramsey is leaving in the summer and yet has probably been the best player of the last three months. Some players need relieving from the firing line.
His philosophy involves high-intensity, a focus on pressing from the front and constant utilisation of full-backs for width. Ozil may not be the ideal solution but there is no question he is the only answer Emery has to try get the team clicking again with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang deserving of better service. It doesn’t sit well with fans to know the play-maker earns £350,000 a week and is barely involved in the match-day squad, but if the manager see’s that Ozil isn’t working hard enough or not buying into the ideas then yes, he has every right to work without him in the side.
However, at the end of the day, football is about results and Arsenal aren’t getting enough at the moment with Europa League their best bet now of achieving a return to Champions League football. That means, Ozil must start on Thursday, with Arsenal a goal down and needing to show everyone they are still contenders for the competition tomorrow night.
In the summer, Emery can deal with trying to offload Ozil and face the consequences if it doesn’t go right, but the fans need to stick with the manager and trust in the process. As for now until the end of the season, Arsenal are not good enough to leave out someone who has proven to be a match-winner like Ozil, out of the squad. Whether he is captain, starting or impacting off the bench, this is Ozil’s final call to prove he should wear the Arsenal shirt, if Unai lets him try.
Sam Tonks 