To play or not to play Mesut Ozil?

 

We hear you, Unai Emery, we hear you. The Arsenal manager is still working on his spoken English but he’s got his message across, loud and clear. Emery arrived at the Emirates and wanted to make a point. And boy, he’s put down quite a marker! He has taken people by the scruff of their necks and showed them – ‘Who’s the Boss!’- and kudos to the Spaniard, it has worked fantastically well for Arsenal.

At least, up till now.

However, approaching the New Year, the chinks in the Arsenal armoury have raised their ugly head, again. To be fair, it’s the same story every year — loss in form, injuries, lack in squad depth and then, no money for the winter window shopping. This year, there’s another story dominating the headlines, Mesut Ozil. No, no, his contract is fine nor is he suffering from ‘I want more trophies’ syndrome. This time, it’s the manager — Unai’s got the Ozil-flu! Ozil does no favours to himself with his disappearing acts — one week his back fails him, the next his mysterious illness. He puts on a magical show one game, then wanders around somewhere on the right flank the next one. So, this was inevitable.

Ozil had it coming because, under Arsene Wenger, he had a cruise — he was the star player, hence irreplaceable. After the Sanchez saga, Arsenal brought out the chequebook and broke their pay structure to keep hold of their main man. It was clear that moving forward, Ozil will dictate the Arsenal way. It didn’t matter that the English press wasn’t a fan of the featherweight German, Wenger had his back. Always.

Emery doesn’t and one can’t blame him entirely for getting on the ‘Ozil doesn’t work hard’ bandwagon. The Spaniard doesn’t believe in superstars, anymore. He won a host of trophies at Paris Saint-Germain but the ‘Neymar experience’ left him feeling raw. He refuses to be a hostage to player power again. He refuses to fall prey to the whims and fancies of another primadonna. So, he’s stripped off the aura surrounding Arsenal’s star number 10 with his ‘tactical’ decisions. No one’s an automatic starter in his eleven. To play in his side, you gotta earn it. He wants his players to run, non-stop. He wants them as intense as him on the sidelines. Hence, his eyes squint when Ozil loses the ball. His clenched-teeth prowl gathers pace at Ozil’s lackadaisical effort at tracking back. You can feel his anxiety every time Ozil has a quiet 45 minutes.

Emery hates self-indulgent stars, hence he hooks him. Not only Ozil, anyone who isn’t up for it get the Emery hook. It worked wonders in the first part of the season. The shock treatment bore fruit instantly. Arsenal fans, who’ve never seen subs before the seventieth minute, were delighted at the proactiveness. A galloping Arsenal went on a 22-game unbeaten run.

Then came Southampton. The ‘run’ came to a screeching halt and now, with a loaded injury list, Arsenal look vulnerable. The dodgy defence is at its wobbly worst. Add Bernd Leno’s suicidal decision making to that. Granit Xhaka is forced to fill in as a centre-half and Matteo Guendouzi is tasked with dictating the play. The 19-year-old has a magic wand of a right foot and along with the new cult hero Lucas Torreira, has formed a formidable partnership but as the season has gone deep, the Frenchman is running out of depth.

The Brighton game showed up the limitations. After an inspiring 20 minutes, Arsenal went into their shell. A pacey counter caught them on their heels and they went into the break deflated. Then came the Emery hook. A flat second half saw the Gunners drop two important points and before Liverpool, Emery has a tactical puzzle to solve: to play or not to play Ozil?

It’s a no-brainer. You play your best player in the big games and Ozil HAS done it for Arsenal in the big games. He’s bossed games against Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea. He’s created, scored and run teams ragged but he has never fit into the British media narrative. Even after being the top assist man since joining the Premier League, he’s still nicking a living.

He’s still tagged as lazy because the English game is not focussed on excellence, it’s about trying. In Gabriel Marcotti’s book, Arsene Wenger describes the visceral nature of the English fan beautifully:

“In England, the measuring stick is the effort, not the outcome. A lazy player is rejected in favour of the one who runs around — even though his runs may be pointless and he may not have a shred of ability.”

The current fad of the high pressing only adds to that narrative and that’s why football writers have the audacity of rating Kyle Walker-Peters over Mesut Ozil. That’s why former players get away after calling him a ‘ghost.’

Emery wants to create his own Arsenal. Great, the fans want that too but the ex-Sevilla man needs to understand that Arsenal is suffering the chills of his frosty relationship with the German. Granted, Ozil hasn’t lit the league on fire this season but has Emery given him a decent run of games? Is Alex Iwobi of more value than Mesut Ozil? With Ramsey heading for the exit door, Emery needs Ozil more than ever. Ever Banega might do a job but to play the Arsenal way, Emery needs Ozil. He is a genius who, given the right players around him, can inspire Arsenal to greater heights. With Aubameyang, Lacazette, Torreira in, Arsenal is slowly gathering the core. It’s happening Unai, take a step back and reassess — you’ve got Ozil…Mesut Ozil… I just don’t think you understand.