The Curious Case Of Mesut Ozil
- Sbongakonke
- Feb 7, 2019
- 2 min read
Once called "The best play-maker in the world" by his former coach, Mesut Ozil is seemingly no longer good enough to start for the 6th best team in England, Arsenal.
The talented midfielder was once again benched as Arsenal went down 3-1 vs City on Sunday. This was a strange decision by the coach, who started a midfield four devoid of any real attacking quality, something that goes against what Arsenal has become loved for.
It seems as though Ozil does not fit into the coach's system, but when you have that type of quality, do you not adjust your style to implement a system that can utilise the talents of your players. Unai Emery seems to prefer a system without a real #10, a role where Ozil excels in.
It is a strange situation seeing Ozil not getting a chance while the team struggles to create chances. Arsenal did not have a single shot at goal in the second half vs Man City, yet the man who holds the joint record for most assists in a season was on the bench. He equaled that record in a season where he had Giroud and Walcott upfront, imagine what he could do with Lacazette and Aubameyang.
The wizard is in a precarious situation, not only at Arsenal, but for his career. If he leaves Arsenal, where does he go? Man City have David Silva in his role, Liverpool have a midfield 3 that does not necessarily use a #10, and his style would not fit their front 3. Chelsea has Hazard and Spurs have Eriksen. So among the rest of the EPL top 6, he has no space except at Man Utd. So would Arsenal sell one of their best players to Man Utd? Well they did sell them Robin Van Persie once upon a time. Outside England, you don't see him at Barcelona, a return to Madrid is unrealistic and the Bayern top brass would never have him at their team.
Ozil is a genius and a misfit all at once. In an era where coaches value the hard worker, or rather the hard runner, over the talent, it is difficult to see where his next big move could be to. He needs a coach that understands his game and is willing to sacrifice one defensive body in order to have a player who is equal to an extra pair of eyes in attack.
What has become clear is that he and Emery cannot be at Arsenal together, the question that remains is whether the coach is good enough for Arsenal to sacrifice a generational talent.
Closest we have to him would be Themba Zwane from Sundowns, and that's a bit of a stretch. He's a rare type of player.
This will improve my soccer knowledge. Yay! Well done!
Which SA player would you compare him to?