Not Registering Ozil Would Be A Sackable Offence! By Dan Smith
First of all let me make my stance clear. It is nonsense questioning whether our manager be sacked when he hasn’t had a full season. Our club would look foolish for hiring someone with zero experience then having doubts about him due to a …. lack of experience.
When they offered a rookie the job, that was an acceptance that they were willing to go through some lows to reach a high.
Arsenal were 11th when Arteta was hired, so I’m not quite sure what fans were expecting out of him more than an FA Cup win.
If it was about challenging for the title this season, you would have employed an Allegri and given him a transfer kitty of 200 million.
The fact you picked someone who could learn on the job sums up the ambition of Mr Kroenke (which I wrote at the same time).
As long as he’s the owner making a managerial change half way through a campaign would be pointless. What exactly do some gooners picture in their minds?
Since trying to replace Arsene Wenger (which some wanted) the criteria for his replacement has been a coach so grateful for the high profile post they were willing to accept limitations.
So if a section of our fanbase got their way and we were recruiting why would that remit be any different to last Christmas?
You would end up with another young coach who has his own vision, which is fine till he’s only allowed to loan players in January and is allowed to net spend approx. 50 million in the summer.
In the past I have been asked how do I know what the Kroenke family is thinking? Which is fair enough, I can’t prove what is in someone’s mind. But I can look at previous decisions made and form my own opinion.
One of the ‘limitations’ I mentioned is leaving Ozil out of your squad and pretending it’s a footballing decision.
Anyone interviewing for the post as Head Coach who has desires to be a champion in a few years, would walk away the moment you have told him to drop your only number 10 when you have one of the least creative midfields in their history.
Every game that goes by without us creating chances, and being terrible to watch, makes a decision to pay a World Cup winner to sit at home a massive one. I wrote when our Premiership squad was submitted that the decision might come back and haunt our manager.
At the time, some supporters were getting carried away and arrogantly thought that we be better with Joe Willock or Reiss Nelson.
The question regarding Ozil has never been what the German can or cannot do, it’s more a case of do you have anyone who can do better?
If we had purchased an Aouar then it makes sense, why Ozil wouldn’t at least make a bench. But we didn’t.
I will never believe that someone mentored by Pep Guardiola can find room in a squad for Elneny but not for Ozil. Maybe I want to believe the decision comes from the top because if it is a purely footballing decision, I can’t defend Arteta.
From January to March Arsenal were unbeaten in the League with Ozil starting every game.
Since he refused a pay cut, he magically never plays again, meanwhile we have lost 9 times with us being horrible to watch.
Even Ozil’s biggest critics can’t argue that it’s worked, and agenda aside, can’t tell me he wouldn’t be a better option off the bench then what we have?
Here’s the issue. In my opinion Arteta is being let down by his employers by lying on their behalf. That’s my theory, yet in the meantime we have to believe what the Spaniard says.
In a month’s time Ozil can be officially registered to play again. If Arteta’s choice is his alone, and the only criteria is football, then he’s risking his job if he maintains on the pitch, we are better without another option.
He would struggle with a straight face to argue what he currently has that is better. The only way I would accept that is if we bought a better midfielder (which we won’t in the next window).
Of all of Ozil’s flaws (and he has plenty) part of a coaches responsibility is to get the best out of your resources. At Man City that was meant to be our manager’s strength, teaching talent on a one-to-one basis. So by insisting Ozil isn’t better than a midfield who can’t create anything, then he’s putting his own coaching ability under the microscope.
In reality it’s never been Arteta’s hill to die on. His employers target was to make the player feel so miserable he either tears up his contract or agrees to a move.
Maybe they don’t have to pay any bonuses, maybe politically they please certain countries or TV companies.
I believe Arteta may have been assured that Ozil was being sold so don’t include him in your plans, but you will get a replacement. No one envisaged the player stubbornly insisting on seeing out his contract.
January could be the point where Arteta has to make a choice. Keep protecting a hierarchy who are not protecting you? Or give some transparency where you can’t be blamed.
Arsene Wenger for years loved his job so much he was a shield for those in power. They exploited his love and were happy for him to take the bullets.
How silly will Arteta feel if he is leaving out his most creative player for non-footballing reasons then gets sacked for not having enough creativity?
He should ring Pep and ask him would he be leaving out a player based on a billionaire regretting a contract he gave to a player? He certainly wouldn’t be dictated to when losing games.
I like Arteta. He speaks well and realises we are a big club. He has shown man management skills to get players to buy into his ethos and be hard to beat.
I defend him in the terms of it is unlikely any manager will succeed with the current owners. I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt by saying essentially he’s too smart to make the conclusion that a midfield with zero creativity wouldn’t need Ozil at least on the bench as a plan B.
Yet if we get to January and the team still are not creating chances, and Arteta is still maintaining that it’s purely his educated opinion then I can’t defend you anymore, Mikel.
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Dan