Arsenal inside knowledge to help France stop Ozil at Euro 2016

While the only Arsenal player that might have been on show in the first of the Euro 2016 semi-final clashes will have to watch from the sidelines after Aaron Ramsey picked up his second yellow card of the tournament as Wales kept their dream summer going with that wonderful win over Belgium, the second semi-final is likely to see Arsenal players starting for both teams.

The France pair of Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny are well aware of just how much damage their club colleague Mesut Ozil could do the host nation’s chances of getting to the final and lifting the trophy, especially the big centre forward as he is the player that is usually the main recipient of Ozil’s final killer pass or piece of creative magic.

Giroud made it clear in a report by The Sun that his Arsenal team mate on the opposite side is the player that France really need to stop from having a big influence for Germany. And perhaps the understanding he has gained about the way Ozil plays, although at times in the second half of last season it was hard to see, means that Giroud and to a lesser extent Koscielny will be able to prepare their French team mates for the job of stopping the German Gunner from wreaking havoc on Thursday evening at the Stade Velodrome in Marseilles.

He said, “Ozil is a very talented player in terms of his passing and his vision for Arsenal and for Germany.

“He likes to drift between the lines so you have to keep an eye on him. We will have to stop him.”

Who do you think will come out on top?

Bob.

Tags Giroud Koscielny

5 Comments

  1. Breaking news: France striker Olivier Giroud a doubt for Euro 2016 semi-final against Germany with a knee injury

  2. Ozil hasn’t exactly been on fire in the Euros. Its the other Arsenal players that have performed better. Giroud has been scoring and Ramsey has been assisting. Really impressed at Ramsey’s corners – AW should look into that.
    If it wasn’t for Mario Gomez injury, I wont be surprised if JL names the same German starting Xl team but puts in Draxler for Ozil.

    1. I think he has played pretty well actually. He has been playing deeper than usual and has been given more defensive responsibilities and is pressing more in the second line than the back line to win the ball back and start attacks. As a result he is not in his favored positions going forward, but he is still creating a fair number of chances, but the goals have dried up for the whole team.

      He is making good late runs through the box as well, but there is an issue with so many midfielders and no natural strikers that can occupy the central defenders and make the early runs. The late runs are being picked up easier, and Ozil is having to try to break the defense down with runs on the ball too often as there are not a lot of good runs in front of him.

      I don’t like the look of this German team right now. They haven’t figured out their defense with no natural fullbacks stepping up (Hector is just ok, Kimmich looks promising but not there yet and may not end up being a defender anyway) and have no natural striker on the roster other than Gomez, who is now out. The balance of the team is off, and as a result they are playing Kimmich and Hector on the wings or as wingbacks when they need better forward players or another CM that can help them possess the ball and create space with quick touches. Such is the talent of the team that they are still as good as anyone in the tournament, but they need to do some serious soul searching right now and I think I favor France in this matchup.

      Now that I’ve said that, Muller and co. will probably remember how to put the ball in and win by 4 goals.

  3. Ozil is doing fine in the Euros. Germany is playing a team game – no one player has stood out – maybe Tony Kroos.

    Anyway I don’t believe their “inside knowledge” will give any advantage when Germany are playing so well as a team.

    As in most games between good teams…….. whichever team executes their game plan better will likely win.

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