Tony Adams cryptic message is clear, there is not enough quality around Mesut Ozil.
Arsenal and Mesut Ozil have had an inconsistent relationship over the last few years with the German struggling to find his best form.
Ozil signed for Arsenal as a world-class talent from Real Madrid in 2013 and in the beginning, he was pivotal to the club’s limited success.
However, the past two seasons have seen him struggle and opinion is divided on his contribution. But Tony Adams has jumped to the defence of the former Los Blancos star.
According to Adams, Ozil plays just as good as he should play and his efforts are going to waste because the German doesn’t have the right players that can make good use of his services.
Ozil started only his third league game against Leicester City, yet he could not stop Arsenal failing to win for the fifth game in a row, in all competitions.
Talking about the playmaker, the former Arsenal star claimed that:
“He should be the cherry on the cake – but Arsenal hasn’t got a cake!”
To some degree, Adams does have a point, he is certainly top-quality, no one denies that. But there are no excuses for going walkabout, not tracking back and basically not giving a damn.
The reason Ozil so divides opinion is that some of us expect far more from a player of his quality. On the other side of the coin is the Adams brigade who feel it is basically everyone else’s fault.
This debate will rage on, that is probably one of the few things most Arsenal fans do agree on. That and Emery being offloaded.
OT. Liverpool are so confident they hardly ever change their formation instead they force the opponents to change. Unlike Our former manager though they actually don’t need to because they have the players. Our current coach changes our game plan so much the players can’t cope.
didnt changing our game plan is what the fans wanted?
the fans were complaining we are always playing the same in the past
past archives can prove this
It doesn’t matter how much times you change formation if you’re losing. With Wenger he didn’t have the players in key positions and with Emery he changes too much for players to cope. Look at all the major successful teams, they don’t change plans every single game. That is my point.
I recall Wenger used to have a stable 11, but fans called him “poor tactician” and the team play “too predictable”. And when he always had his teams playing to their strength, fans called it “too one dimensional”.
We can’t eat our cake and have it!
I love big Tone but he just talks for the sake of talking and his brain isn’t engaged when he does. Arsenal LEGEND but only on the pitch. He just waffles of it.
Reggie, that’s only because you don’t agree with what he says.
Ever thought that because he knows what happens on the pitch, he knows exactly what is needed?
Perhaps, in your own words, a legend on the pitch actually needs to be listened to?
Also whether you agree with him or not, Tony Adams has achieved great things off the field in turning his life around and helping others beat their addictions.
Tony is right, isn’t he?
Unai decided that the best thing to do is to play Ozil and keep Pepe on the bench.two League games in a row, both players have not started together. Is Emery Okay?
What I have been saying for quite a while. And to make things worse, Emery is keeping whatever quality we have in Pepe on the bench.
He’s got a big point and very true message in the sense that Ozil is the Cherry you can have on a cake.
The real problem now is that There’s no cake, Cherries are pretty much useless without the cake.
Meaning right now the team needs to be quality and balanced.
Only in a balanced team you will see Ozil thrive.
I’ve said it so many times, don’t expect Ozil to sort the creativity issues this club has.
Ozil will only thrive when we are balanced but I’m not counting on it
Noe I’ve been saying it and will keep saying it. This team can make a good cake.
This team can do a lot, we just need balance and identity.
I can’t remember when last I saw Liverpool, City, Bayern, Barca even Chelsea Under Lampard change and switch formations as though they’re changing dirty boxers.
They all stand one a formation and style.
We’ll know more about this team when we get a coach that knows how to maximize their full potential
Agree. And we have players who can find a good play style as well as performance, but Mr. Emery just doesn’t stop experimenting.
¨The reason Ozil so divides opinion is that some of us expect far more from a player of his quality.¨
And how his quality will be seen if he doesn’t get the ball? I would like him to track back but as in the last game when Emery relied on counter attacking strategy, if Ozil isn’t in the front to link up quick passes, any hope of counter attack is dead right then. What is he supposed to do? He is not a defender and our players don’t give the passes to him most of the game and play like they can dribble the ball to the opponents goal, or worse just play passing with the goalkeeper. Just watch the last game again.
How the quality of Ozil will be seen, if our own players don’t have enough vision to track Ozil’s movements and link up passes with him? Tell me one player apart from Pepe and Ceballos who is good with the ball at his feet, and can link up some basic 1-2 passes with Ozil.
Why are we the only club whofeel that Ozil needs to change the way he plays?
Germany built a world cup winning team around him. Madrid and Ronaldo played to his strengths, every single club that signed him did exactly that and he was a success. ..as he was under AW.
Then along comes UE, you know, the guy who is taking our club to new heights (sorry lows) with his brand of electrifying, attacking, tactical football, demanding that he changes from everything that made him such a wonderful, gifted player, into something he never was and never will be, a workhorse!!!
Tony Adams knows exactly what a player like Ozil needs to perform, but do our fans listen?
Some already knew, others are still denying what he says, even though he has the knowledge to state these facts.
UE was applauded when he hang Ozil out to dry, he was the coach to sort Ozil out – that’s right, just like he’s sorting out our club…Thank you Tony a legend in every sense of the word.
Ken, I understand that you are an avid supporter of Ozil and that you see little wrong with him but rewriting history will always be called out.
Germany in no way built their world cup winning team around him. He was subbed more than any other German layer I believe, certainly in nearly all the big games except the Brazil game. That team was built around Schweinsteiger and kroos. To suggest that team was built around Ozil is simply wrong.
Real Madrid sold him, therefore he was hardly central to their team, in fact, once he got sold they went on and won three consecutive Champions Leagues. That to me is very telling.
If he is so good then his wages would not be a problem and a team would come in for him, he is still young enough to make a difference. the fact is, no big club is interested at all.
Ozil became a failure under Wenger, Emery knew why immediately and simply did not want him in his team and ever since then he has been a distraction undermining Arsenal at every level.
I find it sad that so many Arenal fans are so obsessed with Ozil that they refuse to see the damage he is doing to our club.
No player is bigger than any club but it seems to me that Ozil has been promoted to that status by some of the Arsenal fans.
But you know what, all of that is irrelevant. What is relevant is what he brings to the team today, not what he achieved in the past or what team was built around or not. It is all about now.
That is what I judge him on and I wish more of my fellow Gooners would do the same. If they did he would not get anywhere near the team, not now and not in the future.
ozil became a failure under Wenger?
did you watch the first few seasons at all?
Thus the word “became”
And what became of my lengthy rebuttal to your post regarding g my support of Ozil Martin?
I assume you need to verify the contents and I hope it hasn’t been deleted by mistake again, as I took your post as a personalone and replied in the same vein.
I’m sure it will turn up, but just make you aware of its existence.
It was in the bin. I do not know why, I am assuming there is a word within it that triggered either spam or a banned word or phrase. I will check it to find out why once I read it in a few minutes, I am just finishing an article about potential new managers uniting the fan base. As soon as I have done that I will read your response.
AdminMartin, likewise, I understand that you are not an avid supporter of Ozil, so re-writing history will go both ways as well.
Your views on the two players you say Germany built their team around differ from mine, so can I accuse you of being simply wrong in your opinion as well?
When Real sold him, Ronaldo said it was the biggest mistake the club had ever made – isn’t that telling you something as well?
Are you are trying to suggest that Real wouldn’t have won those CL titles if Ozil was still there – come on, this isn’t a one man team – next you’ll be telling me that Liverpool won the CL because they sold courtinheo.
Next your praising UE, yes THE UE, for leaving him out, simply because YOU think he failed under AW – let me just remind you, we went on a five match unbeaten run when UE selected his four best players Ozil – Ramsey – Auba – Lacs…he never repeated fhat sequence of wins and now? He let Ramsey leave for nothing auba and lacs are refusing to sign new contracts and he has, finally, called Ozil back into the fold, following the guys miraculous recovery from tiredness and training fatigue, coinciding with yet, more disastrous previous results that saw the fans chanting his namse atcthe Emirates.
I would hardly use UE as a positive reason in an argument – rather go with one of our very own legends myself..
You use the word obsession, as if it didn’t enter your line of thought, but let me remind you of the numerous times you have used both Ozil and Wenger in little snidy remarks that have been picked up and commented on so many times I’ve lost count.
I remember one day you produced at least three posts on the guy, so if you want use the word obsession, apply it to yourself.
That brings me to the damage he is causing to the club – what you mean the chanting and singing of his name by thousands of supporters home and away who want to see him play and are so frustrated by the c**p they are having to watch, while UE tries to prove a point?
Or could it be the golden chestnut that seems to be the stick to beat him with, his reported £350,000 a week?
Why do you think that is damaging a club that is owned by a multi millionare, who is quite happy to spend HIS money, nog yours or mine, but HIS money on the player?
Kronkie agreed the contract willingly, Ozil signed it willingly, zo whats your beef? It hasn’t stopped us signing the likds of auba, lacs etc has it and the other players seem very comfortable abkut it as well.
As Arsenal have not OFFICIALLY put him up for sale ( unlike mustafi ) I would be surprised if any other club did try annd sign him, as that is against the rules – by the way, his salary is totally obscene, as are all premier league players reported salaries – juxt wonder what you would do if Pat offered you an obscene salary increase martin?
No player has ever been bigger than our club and if kronkie decided to sell him or pay up his legally binding contract, so be it – do you think that would stop me supporting the club I have followed for over 65 years?
I have seen betfer players than Ozil being sold against my personal wishes…Eastham, Rocastle, Vieira to name just three- I would suggest that it is your bias against the player that makes you think he has tbat status, simply because so many supporters like him.
So let’s get to today a your final point – what he brings to the team today:
Where do I start? The wonderful flowing football that UE is playing? The vision that our -1 attacking force of over £175,000,000 worth of talent has been supplied with, while Ozil sat at home and UE froze him out? What about the transfer value of a player you so desperately want out of the club, being wittled down by this incredible behaviour? Tnen, of course, there is the opinion jons of our recently signed players, all of whom cited Ozil as one of the reasons they joined the club? What about the sponsors and their reasons for using Ozil in tbeir advertising campaigns? Or finally, the merchandising side of things from the Armoury?
All tbat, without even touching on the fact that he is still th most skillful, tactically aware player we have at the moment – not as good as when he first arrived, but better than anyone else we have bar NONE.
Now, that is what I judge him on and I have given you so many examples to counteract your reasons, but when I went back to make sure I had answered all your points, I realised you hadn’t given me points to actually look at, just what you think is relevant (?) with not one example of why he shouldn’t be near the team now or in the future.
No, you cannot say I am wrong with regards to Ozil and Germany because I backed up my claim with the fact he was their most subbed player. That happens for a reason and not in isolation.
Ronaldo saying that about Ozil is ridiculous and you know it. How can it be the biggest mistake when they won zero Champions League with him and as soon as he is sold they go and win three.
I literally aam saying they would not have won the CL with Ozil in the team because they did not. I have no idea why that would be contentious.
You totally misrepresented my comments regards UE and Ozil. I never prised Emery for anything, I simply pointed out the fact that Emery knew why Ozil became a failure under Wenger immediately and simply did not want him in his team.
Everything else you said about UE is just noise because I never praised Emery at all.
And as for the fans chanting his name and wanting him back in the team. How did that go? A lesson to be learned there methinks.
With regards to obsession, do a search find all these articles I wrote about Wenger, I would love to read them as they simply do not exist.
As for writing about Ozil, well, he is at the club, he is the most high profile player at the club and he is the most divisive and the best you can do is say I wrote three articles about him in one day. Come on Ken, you can do better. However, I have access to stats and I can assure you I have written less than 3% of my articles about Ozil. I write what is relevant, what the readers want to read and judging by the comments and responses I should write more about Ozil.
The rest of what you wrote is just your attempt at trying to justify the damage Ozil is doing and continues to do to the club. So many times you have been pulled up by others for the same old stuff you keep on spouting about how brilliant he is, how the fans love him, how he is this that and everything else and you completely ignore what is right in front of your eyes. But I will give you the respect you deserve for the effort you put and respond.
His wages are a drain on the club and he is not worth a tenth of that wage but I never brought that up once, why have you? What is it with his wages that you have to keep bringing it up when no one else does?
Fans cheering for him? You mean when he was substituted in the Europa League final, a game he was awful in, a game we had to win and he failed abysmally. that cheering. Or just when the fans have become so desperate that in the absence of anyone else they hope against hope that Ozil has all of a sudden changed and decided to become a team player?
Your cherry-picking of specific moments in time does you no credit. I take the last three seasons as a whole, you take a moment in time.
I fundamentally disagree with your view that most supporters like him. I have stated above why that is not the case. You confuse desperation with liking a player. I do not.
You may well be right that younger players cited him as a reason for joining the club or that sponsors love him because of his global appeal but that is an absolute irrelevance when he is rubbish on the field of play. All this is just a distraction from what he actually brings to the team.
he brings nothing, he brought nothing against Leciester, nothing against Wolves, the list of games that he brought nothing to is huge. He cannot change aa game any more, he creates nothing, he is lazy, he goes walkabout and he certainly never tracks back and helps out his teammates.
Nothing you have said changes his form for Arsenal, it has been utterly woeful but of course, everyone else is to blame, it is not him, its the players around him, its the manager, it is the latest software update on fortnite keeping him up. I mean, if making excuses was an industry then the Ozil excuses would be a conglomerate.
As for your comments that he is the most skilful, tactically aware player we have at the moment then I suspect you are getting close to why we are so rubbish if he is the best we got.
Then you conclude with the statement that I brought up no points for you to counteract.
Well, considering the length of your personal opinion I would suggest I did the exact opposite, You, on the other hand, Ken have brought absolutely nothing of substance to this debate other than your own personal opinion. I, on the other hand, explained why the German team was not built around him, I mean, you build a team around the most subbed player, who does that? I pointed out what Real Madrid achieved when he was sold, I pointed out that none of the clubs that could afford his wages have made no attempt to buy him, I pointed out why Emery did not want him in his team, his decline.
Whereas you Ken brought up his wages when I said nothing about his wages, you said I praised Emery when I did no such thing, you made a claim the german team was built around him with zero evidence of that, you made a point about how many articles I have written about Ozil without having a clue how many that actually is in percentage terms.
Now, I respect your viewpoint Ken, I really do, you have strongly held beliefs and do not give ground easily. But that does not make you right, what does make you write is not misrepresenting what people actually say, not cherry-picking, not bringing facts to the table and not making stuff up based on your own perception.
If I have made any errors in spelling etc I apologise in advance it is really late now and I am tired and have been working all day. Also and please be clear on this, I have deliberately set out not to be rude or anything like that, If I have, again I apologise in advance, that would not be my intention.
“If he was that good, his wages would not be a problem” …am I not correct that you mentioned his wages?
Subbing a player doesn’t mean what you imply – are you saying that a manager would keep his most productive player on when the game is won – of course not.
Being substituted doesn’t mean you are playing badly does it Martin? It could also mean a change of tactics, formation, injury or, as above, protecting your important players when the game has been won
Nearly every outfield playerer has been substituted during his career and the fact that Ozil was playing in the team that won the world cup, alongside Germanys best players – or at Madrid, with the array of talent at their disposal hasn’t seemed to occurred to you.
Neither has the fact that he was actually selected in the first place, in order to be substituted.
Are you know saying that you haven’t been questioned about the number of posts you put up regarding Ozil?
Come on Martin, the posts on here were saying give it a rest, but you kept them coming.
I didn’t refer to AW in the same way, what I said was that you always slip in a little sly dig, again picked up by others, creating that negativity you seem to desire about the man and you get your wish.
When UE arrived, he didn’t say Ozil was a failure did he? That is your interpretation of the situation, which I, proved was wrong, when I pointed out that UE’s most successful run was when he played him in consecutive games – if what you believe is the truth, why did he do that?
How easily you dismiss the fan base when it doesn’t agree wjth your views Martin, that’s really disappointing – at least you didn’t deny the fact that the fans want him to play.
It ties in exactly with what Ronaldo said when Ozil left and what Tony Adams is now saying, the man is a creative footballer who is recognised as such by these two great players and the fans who go to watch our club – but you are saying that Ronaldo is ridiculous? It follows then, that you are dismissing Adams and the thousands of fans who chant his name? How on earth can you tell me that you have proved your point, when you ignore what’s in front of you.
Cherry picking? I don’t have to cherry pick, just look at the performances when he hasnt been in the team this season – lets discuss the chances being created, lets discuss the -1 goal difference our team has…as Ozil has only played roughly two and a half games, who do you blamd in this instance?
Bringing up the europa final is a classic – despite the complete capitulation by the coach and ALL the players involved, you take this opportunity to zero in on Ozil…not one person came out of that game with any credit ( I am not silly enough to try and say otherwise ), would you not agree with that assesment of the final?
As for being pulled up by others Martin, that most certainly applies to you as well…just read some of the comments on this current post.
I will direct you back to my original question, however, to which you didn’t reply to and that is, Why are we the only club that feels the need to change the style of play that has made Ozil a world cup winner and a success at every other club, recognised by his fellow professionals and our fan base, while under the coaching of the most disastrous start to a campaign in decades?
That is the current situation we find ourselves in Martin.
I am on holiday and using a very old tablet, so I also apologise if mistakes in punctuation or spelling has been made, plus I keep having to scroll back to answer your points and then lose the reply – anyway it is what it is and I hope that I have addressed you points, look forward to your answers and comments.
Of course I cant give you %’s, I havent the time or the luxury of scrolling back, but you must surely remember the quotes?
Not doing a long response because you have literally repeated what you have already sated and that I have already proven to be incorrect. I also cannot keep responding when my comments are continuously misrepresented.
Hi Ken..One thing I’ve just noticed on here, scrolling down to the latest comments & just below it is tweets from JA.. one of those tweets (that had been re-tweeted by JA) said –
“Mesut Ozil has created more chances for team-mates in the premier league (49) than any other Arsenal player under Unai Emery”
I would love to see that tweet Sue, it was not retweeted by me because it is well wrong. Under Emery, Ozil has had a huge TWO assists, yup you read that right, TWO. Last season Iwobi had SIX, even Maitland-Niles has had more assists. These are facts. I will repeat this for Kens benefit as well.
Sue, thank you for that fact and remember just how many minutes UE has allowed him to play!!!
You know Sue, the one and only criticism I have about jusrarsenal is that they believe they represent the fanbase, when they patently do not…but, funnily enough, thats why I spend so much time on here, trying to explain the situation as seen through the majority, based on my attendances at games – nothing more and nothing less.
justarsenal does give us this great platform to debate and for that they deserve enormous credit.
At the end of the day, martin and I would be jumping up and down with delight if Ozil was substituted in the 89th minute for mustafi and he went on to score the goal that won the PL – funny old game.
See there you go again Ken, misrepresenting JA. There are three of us that write regularly on this site. ALL three have different opinions about Emery, Ozil etc. We invite ALL our readers to send in articles, only a few do. We represent the fans in the sense that we provide a platform for the fans to air their views, we do not for one minute believe our personal views represent the fan base at all. You want Ozil to stay be named captain then write an article and I will publish it. If I believed for one minute that my view represents the Arsenal fan base why would I invite dissenting views to publish an article on this site? AFTV have a million subscribers and they do claim to represent the fans when they only interview the same old tired people week in week out. We are not that arrogant. Why do you think I write an article about unity because I accept that fan base is divided. I have no issue with your opposing view Ken and I welcome it. But please refrain from misrepresenting me and the site. It is wrong, unfair and uncalled for.
Two assists Ken, that is his grand total under Emery. By all means, check that stat out, Iwobi, Ramsey, Miki, even Monreal has had more under Emery, in fact, almost every player has had more. Now that takes some doing for a player supposed to be a creative king.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Orbinho/status/1193206399255355395?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Eprofile%3AJustArsenal%7Ctwcon%5Etimelinechrome&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.justarsenal.com%2Farsenal-legend-laments-the-quality-of-player-around-mesut-ozil%2F228104
This is the tweet.. but like I say, just scroll down to the tweet part, that is where I saw it. Yes I already know about his assists 😜
Well, I think we can agree that is very wrong. That number would be a world record. The number is two and not 49. I certainly would never retweet such a ludicrous tweet.
Well, where did they get it from then I wonder?! 2 assists yes, so what happened to the other 47 chances?!
I’m sure we could go over this until the cows come home.. haha!!
I think the tweet is badly worded. I think and have not checked it out but they mean of the current players Ozil has that many, not how many he has had under Emery.
@admin Martin Ozil was never a failure under Wenger ,even in the present Arsenal just tell me one arsenal mild fielder that is more creative than Ozil .
You know we practically have no wingers at all. How will any creative player flourish from this. We failed to adress this(we did with pepe but looks like he still needs time). We need a direct type winger. Also our game play is so flat. We look void of ideas. The only idea we have is pass the ball backwards. If emerys sucking is not happening then its going to be one long season.
liverfool is guaranteed to win the league with an unbeaten record
2nd team to do the invincible
They’ll never be invincible!…. EVER!
OT: Liverpool leading by 3 goals, I feel for Sue.
BTW, who would have thought that Pep’s team will defend.
Well, well, well….. what do we have here….. Dan’s prediction about Liverpool’s game coming to pass…. wow…. I never saw it coming. Good one Dan. I’m disappointed with City though, I thought the game would be very tight, even if Liverpool would win it
Well done, Dan 👍 Even though I want to cry 😆
Ooh City pulled one back, way too late, but at least there’s no clean sheet.
It seems Liverpool become new Invincible and we have become invisible from invincible….
👍
Take heart Sue, Liverpool will get what’s coming to them ……. They might end up champions, but they’re going to lose a couple of games or so
Champions? Perish the thought, AY75! (Makes me shudder 😆)
Mancity was the better team imo, but was far too wasteful today.
I wonder what happened to their clinicality? That made the difference to the final result.
Gutted, Gily 😔
Couldn’t disagree more with Adams, and he’s not even talking any sense. We have massively upgraded our attack, unless he thinks Laca, Pepe and Auba are not quality players?
Admittedly, the midfield behind Ozil hasn’t always been great, but one cannot keep blaming everyone else. Ozil has to shoulder some of that responsibility. When Ozil does have the ball in the final third, how often does he make a defence splitting pass? It’s been safe, risk free passes, for as long as I can remember.
Ozil isn’t all about defence spliting passes, he is more of synergy type number 10, who requires at least good passing and ball playing abilities from other players, and neither Auba and Laca are sure footed in terms of ball retention. Pepe is good in that aspect but Emery is not playing him with Ozil.
Just think, could a player like Xavi Hernandes make any impact in current Arsenal team, or Andres Iniesta for that matter? I don’t think so. There are different kinds of qualities. Auba, Laca have good scoring prowess, but they rarely attempts good forward runs through out the game, or have good link up abilities.
Now I would definitely want Ozil to back track more and assist in defending, which he is doing more than before, but can still improve on that, but I agree wholeheartedly, he is in a very unfitting team.
But isn’t defence splitting passes his job though? He’s is a play-maker after all.
Ozil is woeful at helping the team out in defending, but then again, I don’t expect him to be great in that area. What I do expect, is for him to be opening teams up in the final third. Which he hasn’t done in a very long time. Because Ozil is almost non-existent off the ball, is play making then has to be on another level to make up for that shortfall, which it isn’t. Ozil rarely scores, or even threatens to, which is another big negative. He is very good at retaining possession, and recycling the ball, but then again, so was Arteta. We didn’t feel the need to pay him 350k a week just to do that. It’s just not enough from Ozil.
I would agree with you, that even the likes of Xavi, and Iniesta, would struggle under Emery. Although Ozil clearly isn’t being used correctly, one should remember that he was flopping under Wenger as well, despite being used correctly. We saw a far better version of Ozil under Wenger, but it still wasn’t good enough. I remember a lot of fans, pundits, journalists questioning his place in the team even under Wenger.
For me, Ozil, along with a handful of other Arsenal players, are not only finished at Arsenal, but finished at this level. No top club will want him. He really reminds me of Torres. Both had won the biggest prizes, and played at the top clubs, with both regressing quite badly from about 27 years old onwards.
TMJW, with a goal difference of -1, perhaps our upgraded attack needed to have Ozil behind them in more games then?
Imagine what would be said if he took risks, especially as he’s being hauled over the coals for ensuring we keep the ball.
How many times did gwendy give the ball away yesterday, compared to Ozil…Tony is talking absolute sense and that -1 stat shows how UE, by freezing him out, has nullified our massively upgraded attack.
But counter that quite easily, what has Ozil created this season? What did he create in 35 appearances last season? Or the season before that?
If we had an extremely expensive striker only scoring 5 goals a season, should we blame everyone else for his form?
Damn, I could have just written that rather than the Opus I just completed. Well said.
Unless of course, you had only been involved for approximately 200 minutes of the said games and made the scapegoat for UE’s failings since the clown arrived last season.
If that extremely expensive striker wasn’t getting the service required to score more goals, then one wouldn’t blame him, just as one wouldn’t blame the player who hasn’t been selected for not providing said service.
Simple really, just as Daulat describes below.
Let’s first analyze the anatomy of a Defence Splitting Passes.
Defense splitting passes more often than not come from strings of passes and link up plays that at first, forces defenders to leave their positions, allowing other players (who are not involved in that play) to take runs behind those defenders to take those splitting passes from the playmakers. THAT preliminary and necessary strings of play and passes is something no one at Arsenal is able to do with Ozil.
To split the defence, you have to take defenders out of positions, that’s what splitting defense means! No one at Arsenal is good with ball retention enough to combine with Ozil in a strings of slick 1-2 passes and draw defenders out of their positions for the strikers or anyone to make runs forward, THEN AND ONLY THEN Ozil can think about providing those SPLITTING passes. You see how it works? Otherwise trying to provide through balls when defenders are tight in their positions, that’s just losing possession. That’s not what PLAYMAKERs do!
To repeat, Playmakers first link with other players in a strings of clever passes, drawing defenders out of positions first. THEN it requires some attacking acumen and vision from the players taking forward runs (think Sterling) and when that happens, the playmaker can supply the player taking forward run with a neat ball through. That’s what Splitting defence means. Otherwise why throw the possession when nobody’s taking runs, nobody is interested in link up play, and that’s what Ozil does most of the game, he is bound to rotate possession as nobody has enough ball playing skills to do what it takes. Creating chances is never a one man drill.
Here’s a thought;
We are 17points behind liverpool already. We are on 17points with a minus goal difference and behind SHEFFIELD UTD because of that plus Man Utd & Wolves are a point behind us and we are in 6th Position
We are out of the League cup by being beaten by Liverpools C Team who banged 5 past us and u guessed we were ahead by 2goals and lost it, seems very familiar to other results 🤔
We are at the Start of November also 8points off the almighty 4th spot and our Capt once again, familiar again, completely tosses the values of Arsenal out of the window as per the way it is these days at the club.
We have a clueless manager who had somehow made us worse with no direction and definitely no progress. We at least played good football but that value is gone too…
Arsenal are in free for all by the looks of it but dont worry because we are in London the money will keep rolling in the the aboves who call the shots all the way from the United States.
I guess we just have to be patient dont we? God this is painful to watch as we were once the pinnacle of football, now we are the club with no testicles on and off the pitch.
Let’s hope some miracle happens as we sure as hell need one.
OFF Topic: It’s quite obvious to anyone with half a brain that the powers that be want Liverpool to win the league. So disillusioned with the game now especially with these stupid VAR decision which as turned a bias game even more bias. City should have had at least three penalties today, the Aguero trip and Van Dyke’s arm on Stirling was an absolute joke.I’d also like to know when’s Klopp going to be ticked off. He argues with every fourth official at every game and yet never receives as much as a yellow card or even a talking to. Sorry, with United in decline the media have firmly switched their allegiance to Liverpool as their favourites
I was shocked that the arm incident was not a penalty. A lot of people talk about gambling etc… Could they be on to something?
I thought VAR called every one correct. As per usual these decisions are subjective.
Martin, I agree they were correct today but they are NOT supposed to be subjective at all and that is why VAR IS RUINING OUR GAME. Goalline tech works well because that is a matter of fact and has cured controversy in that area but pens should be left entirely to the ref, apart from when either in or out of the area, which is not usually much of a problem anyway. Overall VAR does far more harm than good. Until they take ALL subjective reviews OUT of it VAR will continue to harm the game. Fools! Anyone with a decent brain could have foreseen the problems but those in charge are as dim as a 10 watt bulb. Keeping fans in the dark, as they do, shows the intelligence of a dimwitted moth.
The problem Jon is the rules, not VAR. The rules force VAR to be subjective.
the new rule is no handballs in the buildups to goal even it unintentional. So why the first goal stood is beyond me. I think they got it wrong and didnt even follow their own rules
👍 probably had something to do with it being at Anfield
Only in the event a goal is scored, not with penalties. If it is unintentional then it is not a penalty. Those are the new rules. If it is unintentional and a goal is scored then it gets ruled out. Therefore VAR was correct.
These are the rules that Riley insisted were put into place, along with the ruling that his referees did not use pitch side television to review ANY decision.
As far as I know, that is completely at odds with the rest of the world who use var and it can only be taken as a way to protect his ridiculous claim that english refs get 96% of their decisions right.
I simply do not buy that. I am not a part of the referee conspiracy against Arsenal, never have been and never will be. Trust me when I say that we are not the only fans that feel the refs are biased against them. EVERY fan from every club feels exactly the same. That alone tells me there is no bias. As for VAR, I agree, the lack of pitchside VAR is a mistake and they have now lifted that ban. Refs can now go to the pitchside if they wish. Finally, I believe English refs are among the best in the world. I watch a massive amount of football, it is part of my job and Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga etc refs are just as woeful or competent as their English counterparts. In fact, refs in Italy and Spain are an utter disgrace when it comes to things like racism, fouls and diving. It is and always will be a favourite past time of fans to criticise refs and make ludicrous allegations and yet the refering scandals of fixed games etc have been a huge problem in Italy, Germany and Spain. Not England.
Spot on, Kenny 👍
Kenny, As you say, off topic! WHY DO YOU GET SO CONSTANTLY UPSET ABOUT REFS AND RILEY. We all know they are crap but surely our OWN club and its malaise is of far more worry to us Gooners. Pointless moaning constantly about refs as nothing will change! I reaise though that unlike me you actually believe they are anti Arsenal , pro Liverpool and pro United. I HAVE NO TIME FOR CONSPIRACY THEORISTS WHO ARE IN THEIR THOUSANDS AT ALL BIG CLUBS, IN CASE YOU DON’T REALISE. CRAP YES, BUT NOT BENT!
Jon;Because I’m passionate and Riley is bending the game I love. Why do you think he doesn’t allow his referees to check the halfway line monitor, it’s because he would then have no control over the decisions. Take the Arsenal-Palace game, Atkinson gave a goal but was not allowed by Riley to go to the monitor to verify it, instead it was left to a young Australian with no experience who’s doing his best to please his boss and get a foot up in the game. There are absolutely no doubt’s in my mind that Riley has made abundantly clear to all his referees of his hate for Arsenal which goes back over the last twenty years. Consequently, the more bad decisions Arsenal get, the happier Riley is. So now his bunch of bias referees know exactly how to please their boss. Getting back to today’s game and I know you like Liverpool almost as much as you like Arsenal, you’ve made that perfectly clear in recent post’s, are you telling me Van Dyke arm on Sterling wasn’t a penalty. One more point, why does Riley keep the same bunch of select officials around him all the time. Riley lives in West Yorkshire a fifteen minute drive on the M62 to Manchester. 95%, yes, no exaggeration 95% of his officials come from the M62 corridor.NOT ONE SOUTHERN REFEREE ON THE LIST, I’ll repeat that, NOT ONE SOUTHERN REFEREE ON THE LIST. Jon you’ve watched the game for as long as I have, over 60 years but I can tell you now with the greatest respect, I don’t think you’ve ever kicked a ball in your life, certainly not at a decent level, because your naivety is clearly there for everyone to see
Not only are the VAR decisions absolutely shocking, it’s badly short changing the fans.
I only caught about the last 40 mins of the Spurs game yesterday, but that really tight offside call for Sheff Utd’s disallowed goal, took almost 4 minutes! That was just one incident. The fans lose enough game time as it is with play acting, throw-ins, set pieces, etc, but now VAR is taking huge chunks of the game away from the hard paying punters. Why they don’t stop the clock is beyond me.
The worst thing about losing those 4 minutes, was that you still couldn’t tell if it was even the right decision! Maybe the opposing player was a tiny fraction offside, but the angle being used to make the decision couldn’t give the exact timing of when the ball left the boot of the Sheff Utd player making the pass. This is crucial. Because if they get the timing wrong on the ball, then that’s enough milliseconds for the attacking player to then move, thus looking offside. Most of the time this isn’t really an issue, but this call was so unbelievably tight, that it did matter. Because they couldn’t definitively say when the ball actually left the foot, then it was a worse decision to overall the goal, rather than letting it stand.
well, it looked like our proud record will be matched by l’pool this season…
how can arsenal went and spent 30million on toriera when there is a far better player under our noses in ndidi.. what are those in charged at emirate smoking for goodness sake… I think we better break bank and get this guy.. imagine him in front of our defence Chelsea got kante we can get ndidi as well
I personally dont think its Toreirra but its U Emery’s luck of stratage in playing a DM whose work should be mostly protecting the defense line by staying in front of the back line. When Lucas was doing that he was the best and Arsenal was not losing match goals but when U E changed his way of play it affected him up to now. About Orzil he should also have that system of trying to save the club single handedly to show his talent like what other players to and this will be what will cement his fan surpot. But for UE he has no plan B and has poor substitute system so let him just leave Arsenal.
Tony Adams on Sky Sports Football also said that the problems at Arsenal are deeper than just the coach. In his opinion the group of players are not good enough and lack character. He also said that, apart from maybe an initial bounce, there is no saying that a new coach will get more out of this group. He questioned whether recruitment considered a player’s character and leadership ability, things that were taken into account when he went to Arsenal?