The accusation that Mesut Ozil is a bit of a luxury player for Arsenal has been heard ever since the German signed for the Gunners over two years ago and there has been evidence to back up the claim.
Ozil was a bit lightweight when he first came to the Premier League and was too easily muscled off the ball. He put in plenty of hours in the gym though and while not exactly looking like a rugby player, he now has better upper body strength and is winning more 50-50s.
They also said that he was lazy and that he did not turn up in big games or was too inconsistent. Maybe that was true before but the stats show that it is definitely not the case this season. In one Metro report the stats show that Ozil covers more ground than players like Willian, Coutinho, Toure, Oscar and Emre Can, all of whom have reputations for being tireless workers.
In fact the only players on the list that have run further this season are Santi Cazorla, Ross Barkley, Memphis Depay and Eden Hazard but they have all played more minutes than the Arsenal creative star, and when you break the figures down, not one player ran more than Ozil over a 90 minute average.
Add to this that Ozil is also joint top of the EPL assist chart with David Silva after bagging another couple as we beat Watford ,and you can see that rather than being a luxury player, the Germany international is now a vital and influential member of the team. What more do people want from him?
lets see how he performs against bayern, last time we met bayern at the emirates he was a ghost of himself
ah yes the famous….i missed a penalty i will bow my head in shame for the rest of the game episode
Ozil was never a luxury player to start with.
He’s a silent-assassin.
He’s a supplier that needs receivers. He is noticed when there are good players that can run into positions and utilize his killer passes. A pass will be talked off if someone direct the sumptuous pass into the net.
He was a luxury player but with Sanchez around and Waclott he has something to play with up front.
What i am asking myself is why did Wenger not try to bring Griezman at Arsenal. French, young and a superb footy talent. Also not that costy, and also his former team owned us some money from Vela. The old geezer passes out to often.
we had our shot when we sold vela to sociedad an didnt get griezmann then.
hes unreachable now- everyone wants him
A question. Would you give up on Ramsey just to find him the place to play him on the wings?
griezmann along with ozzy and sanchez would be guaranteed starters over anyone for me.
but i will never give up on ramsey, he like jack has showed world class potential- will it ever come to fruition- who knows
but u remember how good he was two years back- astounding at times
That for my friend we will never be worldclass champions.
U r kiddin right…this is as close to a no brainer in football terms u will see.. The guy is top class winger with goals … Ramsey is a hard working utility player with average skills who scores sometimes … Said it after the World Cup and again at start of transfer market … Now too late … Another missed opportunity thanks to geriatrics arrogance
@Ks_gunner
Griezman made it clear, time and again, that he wants to stay in Spain…
Mesut Ozil, still remember the pass for Sanchez header against Leceister which was similar to the one he gave for Reus volley which was saved, silky stuff from the German.
Ozil was a great player when he came from madrid to Arsenal, but not a complete one in certain aspects of the Game(physicality, goal scoring, and defending). Wenger and wenger and the Barclays premier League is creating a Monster midfielder out of Ozil..*and am loving it.
Two Wenger’s? * falls off chair*
Exactly ! He was still 25 when he joined us and he didn’t develop much as a player in Madrid due to their managerial instability, he had to solely rely on his talent and as we know talent alone isn’t enough to succeed in the BPL, especially when the frontline is nowhere near the caliber of Ronaldo and Bale. I’m glad he joined us because Wenger is turning him into a complete ACM just like how he turned Cazorla into a complete CM and is currently turning Walcott into a complete forward.
Listen Baby Please
Ozil is world class and vital to any hopes of getting trophies
Also vital are Alexis, Koscielny, Coquelin, Cech
i love the way u start ur comments with
listen baby please
i would share my skittles with you
It’s nice now. It would soon be annoying, ha ha!
baby plz. train your forearms and we can tllk
hie guys.. im a die hard arsenal fan from Zimbabwe..im new here.. have been reading posts on this for three years
COYG!!
“In one Metro report the stats show that Ozil covers more ground than players like Willian, Coutinho, Toure, Oscar and Emre Can, all of whom have reputations for being tireless workers.”
Distance covered doesn’t mean anything without pressing or putting in the tackle. Otherwise, all top teams will be looking to sign Mo Farah.
For real people just jump on stats.. lol.
Ozil is a jogger, he is always jogging throughout the match, people call it “Creating space for other”. Surely no one interprets the distance covered by Ozil in the same category as the likes of Ramsey, Willian, Cazorla, etc.. Those guys put in a real tough physical effort (Tackles, tracking back at full pelt, real defensive work etc.)
As a musician, I would tell you that the rests are just as important as the notes. Translated here, movement off the ball is a lot more important than people realize. Walcott and Ozil are the best on the team without the ball, and it does a lot to create space for others and draw defenders away from the ball. It also is vital for a strong possession game because it gives the player with the ball an outlet and someone to play the one-two style that we use a lot. These types of players tend to be underappreciated because a good chunk of their contribution is not measurable.
I haven’t seen anyone mention that Arsene’s tactics were adjusted slightly this season, but it looks that way to me. The wings are sitting deeper when we aren’t in possession, which means the pressing is mostly coming from the striker and CAM. This is where a lot of Ozil’s running is coming from, and Ozil is also tracking back to block off the late runners and give a quick outlet when we get the ball back.
I am actually very happy with Ozil. He is getting in the box more regularly and if he becomes a scoring threat, he might be the best player in the league.
All hail the wizardry of Oz
What else? Three things: Goals…
Goals…
And goals
I do think he part of the puzzle but not vital as you addressed him.. What he is doing right now is expected of him, that’s the minimum, every attacking midfielder at any Top european club should be able to create or score… Ozil is part of the team but if he was to be out and we put Cazorla in that position I don’t think we would notice any difference.. Santi is more dangerous than Ozil in that no10 position.
It’s just my opinion of course.
@Goonster
Exactly. Santi is more well rounded than Ozil. He’s a playmaker who attacks and defends in equal measure. He also has the ability to command the midfield. Something Ozil cannot do…
No, Ozil and Cazorla are two separate types of midfielder like Xavi and Iniesta you just can’t compare them. Cazorla plays centrally deep like a no.8 whereas Ozil plays behind the striker like a no.10. Cazorla is responsible for us keeping possession while Ozil is responsible for dictating our play in the attacking third but they both do both roles simultaneously which makes our style of play sexy as f***.
Its evident that those statistics are rubbish or better yet what the writer is saying the statistics imply, does a man who walks about his work place means he is doing more work than one sitting.
Yes he is an improving player, however, he is not as important as he should be, i will say it once again our opponents defense line should fear the player which we have in the number 10 role, ozil does not give off that Aura of a player that should be feared and therefore our team is not feared as we once were, until ozil add that drive into the final third taing on defenders, taking shots and scoring more goals, then you can say he is actually putting in the work