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Six years on from his arrival in North London, few Arsenal fans would dispute that the Mesut Ozil narrative is getting a little tedious.
It feels like we’ve all evolved from the superficial but recurring analysis of the World Cup winner’s reluctance to tackle and track back being at the root of Arsenal’s struggles, even if it did unfortunately symbolise some of the team’s most fundamental flaws under Arsene Wenger, and yet, new developments in a subplot that has persisted throughout the former Real Madrid man’s time in the Premier League keep on appearing.
Last Sunday, as Arsenal fought hard to beat an in-form Bournemouth side at the Vitality Stadium, Ozil was forced to settle for watching from the bench. Seemingly only included in the squad for scenarios of genuine extremis, Arsenal didn’t even need the former German international as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted in the 67th minute what later proved to be the winner.
Modern football is a squad game and there’s certainly nothing wrong with choosing the right player for the right occasion, or more accurately in this case leaving out the wrong player for the wrong occasion. The problem though, is that Ozil’s a world-class talent when at his best and the highest-earning player at the club.
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If somebody earning £350k per week isn’t the right fit for an away game against a mid-table Premier League club, the kind of game Arsenal should be winning, then can he really justify such a gigantic wage package?
Likewise, if Arsenal are capable of beating Bournemouth – a very talented side with the most goals of any club outside the top five so far this term – in their own back yard without Ozil, then do they really need him at all?
Come the end of their first season working together at Arsenal, that’s a tough decision Emery, Head of Recruitment Sven Mislintat and Head of Football Relations Raul Sanlleh will need to make. But the more immediate issue is Emery’s explanation for excluding Ozil from starting XI last weekend.
There’s nothing wrong with the explanation itself. In fact, it’s incredibly astute and refreshingly pragmatic after so many years of Wenger’s tactical inflexibility. Bournemouth have shown time and again this season that they have the speed and intensity to rip apart even the best teams on the break – only Leicester City have scored more than their three counter-attack goals in the Premier League.
Ozil has never been one for sprinting towards his own goal and against a side as well organised, quick and potent as Bournemouth, that could be incredibly costly. In fact, even without Ozil, Bournemouth punished Arsenal all the same as Josh King’s opener came from a move of flowing back-to-front football, as David Brooks sprinted from his own box to the Gunners’ in order to slide in the Norway striker.
Perhaps then, Emery’s decision to bench Ozil was already justified in first half stoppage time by Bournemouth’s equaliser, but the Arsenal gaffer’s explanation sets a curious precedent. If Bournemouth were seen as too intense and physical for Ozil, then where exactly does Emery draw the line? Is this Sunday’s North London derby not going to be an incredibly intense and physical game as well? Is Emery therefore going to bench his highest earner again, this time for one of the biggest fixtures on Arsenal’s calendar?
Of course, the dynamics of Sunday’s game will be different. Arsenal are always strong at the Emirates Stadium, even last season finishing second in the Premier League’s home table, and Ozil’s best form under Emery has come there as well – the venue responsible for three of the four top flight goals he’s been involved in this term. Likewise, the game should be more open than Sunday’s, at least in patches, as Tottenham will look to make a statement.
And yet, Tottenham showed against Chelsea only last weekend just how intense and physical they can be. If Emery believes Ozil struggles to handle that kind of pressure, then surely he has doubts over the 30-year-old’s suitability against Tottenham’s high press, against Moussa Sissoko and Eric Dier in midfield, against the conciseness of Spurs’ tight midfield diamond and more holistically, the all-round ambitious energy of Mauricio Pochettino’s style of play.
Inevitably, Emery will want his best talents on the pitch for such an important game but to not have those fears, after last week’s verbal justification for Ozil’s lack of involvement, feels like an obvious contradiction. The bigger picture though, is the more important one here: how long can Arsenal afford to keep paying Ozil what he currently earns, if he’s no longer a guaranteed starter every week?
Would you start Ozil against Spurs, Arsenal fans? Let us know by voting below…
