ozil

Opinion: Could Ozil have done any more to prove Emery wrong?

WE GOT OZIL by Dan Smith

It really was put up or shut up time for Ozil last night having had a lot of gooners go to bat for him. In terms of performance Ozil could not have done more, playing a part in at least 3 of Arsenal’s 5 goals against Liverpool last night.

For Emery it was a nightmare. The manager clearly wants him out of the club, and only included him in the League Cup out of pressure, yet after that display to not have him at least in the squad on Saturday would be a sackable offence.

The Spaniard cannot with a straight face claim any more that there are players who deserve to be ahead of the German. Yes, there was less pressure on this cup tie with both teams making wholesale changes, but the reality is no one has got as close to Ozil in terms of being creative.

He simply can do things others can’t and Ozil could not have done more last night. For our first goal twice, he had the ball in the penalty area, which would prompt most to rush, he calmly passed the ball to a couple of his mates like we were watching someone press the x button on FIFA.

To play devil’s advocate, he’s never going to run around and press from the front like clearly Martinelli is being coached to do. To get the best out of the World Cup winner you almost need to build your team around him and accept he’s a luxury. That’s why he always started under Arsene Wenger, because he was passionate about offensive football, the game being played the right way. That’s why Emery is and never will be comfortable with Ozil, it goes against his ethos.

Emery can’t trust that to work for him away from home and in many ways, he’s been proven right. Ozil has always lacked the consistency to be considered truly world class, he could not show up against Wolves and it’s the equivalent of being down to 10 men. Yet no one is doing any better and maybe his return at the weekend is the lift everyone needs after a straining week.

Selfishly the fact that it all fell apart after he was subbed worked in his favour. He had done his job, he had led a young attack and were prolific, it was the rest who failed to close out the match.

If Emery and the Kroenke’s have their way you still sense they will offload him in January. So, when you see Ozil play how he did last night, appreciate it, as we might not be seeing it too many more times…

Dan Smith

76 Comments

  1. Yes Ozil impressed in Carabao cup; but that’s against an inexperienced Liverpool boys.Emery should now give him chance against wolves on Saturday to further prove what he can offer. Ozil creativity still remains the best at Arsenal. Cebalos yet to adapt well to premier league physicality . Both players can be used in games as substitutes for each other.
    But Ozil should be starting games
    Emery should stop his prejudice against him.

    1. Playing against Wolves at the Emirates will be too easy for a world class player like Ozil

      Ask him to start in Leicester and at the Goodison Park, then we can see whether he has improved his game or not

      1. Gotanidea, I want to ask you some serious question, did ozil just come to premier league, has he not played in a teams bigger than Arsenal, dose he not have trophies to show for his efforts? So what the hell is wrong with you? Every player has good days and bad periods but to talk of Ozil like he is some new comers is ridiculous and petty. He has played some fantastic football at Arsenal and trophies and salary is are signs. Please stop talking about him as if he is Saka or some new players. Please give credit where it’s due. He started doing this from a very young age!!!!! Arsenal is one of his smallest club. He was a key player in Germany (world cup wining team). He is not a child!!!!

        1. Well said Pat, this Ozil bashing is getting a bit tedious, and how I wish someone got an idea finally, to be objective!

        2. Pat, your comments are always about The Arsenal and what is good for the club – there was a recent article on here about bullying and I have thought about it a lot since then.

          We have a pretty regular bunch of contributers on here and I would personally like to thank you, Sue and Grandad for being the only ones, in my view, who can honestly say they have never bullied or tried to intimidate with their comments…always read and digest your thoughts as true gooners.

          1. 😊 Ken, I’m touched, with that coming from you, Sir.
            Thank you… as I’ve said many times before, we could all learn a lot from you, Ken! What a guy! What a gooner! 👍

            And as for Pat, she is such a sweetheart and I agree with you about her comments – straight to the point, fair & honest. This site wouldn’t be the same without you both on it 😊👍

      2. @ Gotanidea Ozil’s Statute or CV is there for all to see even the So called Manager Emery knows that. His kind of play is not to dive into tackles but rather to make football look easy & entertaining to the eye of the spectators while making it even easier for the strikers to score goals that is why he is called a Creative Midfielder (CM). Does Xhaka/ Goundouzi do there work well as DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS (DM) to breaking up opponents attack (ie protecting Arsenals back 4) and start up play leading to attack? No I don’t think so

      3. @Got-FFS tell me who the F*** else we have in our squad capable of being creative.Ceballos? Not looking the part at the moment is he? Emery is like a rabbit caught in the headlights.He is blinded by his own mistakes.He sets us up to be defence minded yet we concede by the bucket load.He has no creativity in the side and we can’t get THREE top level forwards to consistently perform.
        Whether fans support or dislike Ozil is now irrelevant.Just play him and at least give the opponents something to think about other than the predictability that Emery brings to every game with his too familiar and unfunctional style of play that is taking us backwards

        1. ADMIN COMMENT…
          DAN THIS IS THE LAST TIME I AM GOING TO WARN YOU FOR PERSONAL INSULTS. IT HAS HAPPENED TOO MANY TIMES…

          1. If calling someone a sh1t stirrer is a personal insult then we must be dealing with some proper snowflakes on here .

      4. Use him with balance. Play him and if he’s struggling get him off. Wenger used him too much and Unai doesn’t want to touch him. We’re struggling against Palace at home so we should be playing Ozil even in ‘easy’ games.

  2. Positives:

    Özil – showed Emery what we are missing
    Martinelli – 9 goals in 8 appearances, amazing
    Willock – he’s scoring goals alright but I think he could better his game on creating, passing and recovering possession

    Negatives:

    Emery needs to go. Our 2nd team essentially lost to Pool’s 3rd team. We played kids as well, however all of our players have featured for first team for quite awhile now. Unacceptable we can’t hold off a 4-2 lead for 40 minutes.

    Martinez was really poor.

    Overall: start Özil and Martinelli. Get rid of Emery or risk losing CL qualification once again. Allegri is available, and he will sort out our defense, believe that. I mean look at our squad! Don’t you think we should be scoring more than we are, and not be defensively worse than we were with Wenger?

    1. Oh and DON’T START XHAKA. He didn’t deserve the abuse, however he doesn’t deserve to play for Arsenal either.

      ——– Leno
      Bell – Rob – Luiz – Tierney
      – Lucas/Willock – Guendouzi
      ——— Özil
      Pepe – Auba – Martinelli

      1. Against Wolves:

        …………….. Leno
        Bellerin . Holding . Luiz . Tierney
        ……… Guendouzi …… Willock
        Aubameyang …… Ceballos …. Martinelli
        …………….. Lacazette

    2. I beg to differ on Martinez… you can only blame him for Origi first, otherwise the other four were simply unstoppable….

  3. Ozil is not Emery’s nightmare. On the contrary, Emery would have benefited from Ozil’s performance, had Ozil performed well last season

    Ozil is Arsenal’s nightmare. Because his “world class” performance rarely comes, yet he is consistently milking a lot of money from the club

    His inconsistency persisted because he likes to waste his time for a perfect pass, instead of trying other methods to break the opposition’s defense. Assign Ceballos as a no 10 for five matches and I believe we could see the difference

    1. “Ozil is Arsenal’s nightmare. Because his “world class” performance rarely comes”

      Which sums up why the board and manager are scared of playing him in games right?

      1. I believe Arsenal are trying to offload him as soon as possible, hence the freezing of Ozil

        However, I don’t think Ozil cares so much about playing football anymore. I think living in London is more important to him

        1. Did ozil tell you that. Since you and emery feels he isn’t consistent then he should keep using Mr xhaka the consistent and his fellow clown and loose his job at the end of the season. I pity the true arsenal fans. We will be the once to suffer.

        2. Haters of Ozil like you,is killing Arsenal. Against Watford, Arsenal lead by 2-0,and as soon as, Ozil was subbed, we lost control of the game. Our lack of creativity and possession were evident. We were very fortunate to hold out for a draw,having conceded 31 shots in the match. Against Liverpool, Arsenal lead by 4-2,Ozil subbed, final match score 5-5,and Arsenal loses 5-4 on penalties and your Ceballos failed to score. Ozil is the most creative player we have and should be used more frequently. Against Sheffield no Ozil and we lost. I think right now arsenal should forget about trying to defend.Matches are won by scoring goals and that should be our focus going forward. Arsenal must act now and let Freddie manage Arsenal for the rest of the season.

      2. Like they played him in Baku? Oh wait a minute, that was a bad day, every player has a bad day, trash, tosh,… And this performance was against the Pool C team! Let him man up any EPL team maybe 7 out of 10 games, and then I will agree that he is STILL world class. Hope he does not go into slumber for the next 10 games leaving his fans raving about yesterdays game till new years dawn.

    2. Ozil did not award himself the pay I ope you Know that. If he was such a poor player why bring him to Arsenal in the 1st place. So many players in this arsenal team that are playing in the 1st team that given to other top flight teams would not even make the bench in a whole season. In the absence of a Known Tested and Proven CD this time round how many goalhave arsenal scored

  4. Dan your last paragraph, what are you talking about if they have their way.
    That has always been the plan.
    Yesterday only proved David Ornstein right all this while and yesterday was clearly what the board and Emery were trying to avoid.
    They fear playing him in games because they’re afraid he might perform well and fans wont take it lghtly when he’s dropped, so instead they’d rather not play him at all and that’s what they’ve been doing.
    Their battle now is before he even played, fans were already turning back on the coach and captain and chanting Ozil instead, it’s been two games they did so now I think? Seems the board’s plan is heading downwards

    In so many situations where we would’ve rushed, been in haste to do something with the ball, he was calm and composed, always being forward.
    To some people well, he performed good only because it’s a team B from Liverpool and they’ll never accept he’s still better than having no creative midfielder at all.
    I expect us to go back to our crappy football this weekend so the guardians of Emery’s Galaxy can enjoy their weekend with his depressive football

    1. “I expect us to go back to our crappy football this weekend so the guardians of Emery’s Galaxy can enjoy their weekend with his depressive football”

      Eddie as you’ve mentioned before, you consider me one of those guardians, so please tell me when I have ever said I enjoy the way we’ve been playing in the league?

      So tired of seeing myself and a few others getting slammed with insults or flippant comments like this just because we don’t have the same opinion as the negativity train – it’s pathetic.

      As for Ozil, he did well last night, certainly better than he did against Watford imo and finally put in a performance that showed everything I wanted from him – he created a few chances, set up the goal for AMN and was tying the midfield together nicely. He was even putting in the effort on the defensive side too, which was a big part in Martinelli’s 2nd goal (?) when it was him who reclaimed the ball and set off the play with a little backheel – much improved from his lackadaisical jogging around he normally does.

      The substitution was pre planned before the game and if it hadn’t been for Kola being injured (assumption as he signalled to be subbed) I think we would have seen Emery trying two different ‘centres’ in the 4411.
      Ozil Torreira Willock
      Laca Guendouzi Ceballos
      This would have kept us firing in the final third imo as Laca is more than capable of replacing Ozil (different styles admittedly) as a support striker.

    1. The old guy, yes.
      But Josh, the son, is actively involved. He had a meeting about Xhaka with Emery within hours of the booing so he is clearly involved in the club’s running.
      But I think he is just listening to Emery’s moaning about Ozil not running around enough and going along with it… If Emery stays, the club should be renamed as “Headless Chickens United”.

    2. Why do I think Koronke might be anti Ozil?
      AkA the owner of the club
      AKA, evidence in last decade where that man puts making profit ahead of ambition
      Do you think if Ozil wasn’t earning as much as he was he be frozen out ?
      While he’s there , it means the likes of Lacca and Auba can demand parity
      Have you never wondered why Ozil is only one who has to jump through hoops to get into the squad, not David Luiz, Not Sokertise, they play every week
      If your the Koronke family , who have to decide in summer if Emery stays which one you think helps Spaniards chances ?
      Of course he wants CL money
      Yet if Emery can point to how much he’s taken off wage bill, Ramsey, Cech, Wellbeck, Wilshire, Koscielney , now Ozil, you don’t think Stan will be delighted?

      1. If money was the only thing Kroenke cared about, Ozil would never have been awarded a £350K contract in the first place now, would he? And that’s even assuming Kroenke plays the CEO role! Or are you saying Kroenke acts as both a director and CEO of this club? Also, what do you mean Kroenke puts making profit before ambition? I ask, can a football club escape bankruptcy while generating losses every season? Why is the bbenchmark for ambition making a loss? Why have you decided we can’t be successful both on the pitch and off the pitch? Reckless spending might generate short term success, but it will lead to the collapse of this club in the long term. Be reasonable.

        1. Exactly right QD, the owners would not have sanctioned Ozil’s upgraded contract. Unfortunately all rationality has gone out of the argument for many on this site regarding Mezut Ozil.

          1. @Ozziegunner
            It certainly has mate!Some even said it’s the board that masterminded Ozil’s knife-attack to chase him away from the club. Can you believe this Ozziegunner?

        2. QD, you are quite correct regarding the kronkies in my opinion.

          It was stanley who signed off the ludicrous salay that Ozil enjoys, but he obviously thought it was money well spent – Ozil committed himself to the club and I assume all parties were happy with the outcome.

          The problem is that now, we have a manager/coach with an idea of how Football should be played that is
          Completely different in every respect to the last one.
          I don’t believe this “he got rid of The deadwood” cry…he got rid of the playerslwho didn’t suit his style of play ( not saying we should not have got rid of them please note ).

          However, Ozil is/was the enigma in his plans, simply because he is a creative player and not
          a water carrier and this style of play has no place in UE’s thinking.

          It has nothing to do with the reported £350,000 a week salary – it didn’t bother stanley two years ago and it has actually decreased in monetary value due to inflation, so let’s just get over the fact that we all, I assume, agree t is obscene but doesn’t effect stan and therefore his club…its peanuts to a bulti billionaire’s family.

          As football fans and supporters of this club, we should be looking at just that – does Ozil represent good
          value as a creative footballer?

          After watching first hand, UE’s idea of football and witnessing the skills and commitment of said player, there can be no doubt who comes out on top…Ozil has proved his worth that’s for sure…letsforget the rest of the secondary issues…as fans that’s all we should be concerned about.

          1. KEN,Let us older folk who have a good sense of perspective please not go overboard on last nights perf. My take is it is one thing playing a basically second string Liverpool, shorn of almost ALL their best players, though a few only remained, and quite another when playing a fully committed team in the Prem with their key players all present. Even, say, Burnley, Villa, Sheff Utd or Wolves- ooh, I forgot, we DO play Wolves this Saturday. Not one of those sides is even among the top opponents we will play this season and therefore all of our players will need to play at 100%. Though Ozil did some clever touches last night, for me the whole Gooner world has gone prematurely overboard about his perf, so desperate are they to have some true and regular creativity in midfield,which I agree we badly need.I, for probably the 200th time, once again found him giving far less workrate than ALL players, no matter whom, NEED to give in every game. HE WAS FAR FROM ALONE TOO. I also thought Saka and Maitland Niles were far too passive and frankly too laid back. To me, AM-N has not the required mindset to be a successsful Prem player and nor has Ozil, nor has he for several seasons already. I am hugely doubtful that Ozil,will start against Wolves, though he may be used from the bench. IMO, he should still never again wear our shirt, and certainly NOT in Prem games.

          2. Jon, yet again I find you going against the “vast majority” regarding Ozil and his performance last night.

            Despite your desire for him to change the way he has played his football since his career began, you still feel he has to “improve” to meet your required standards!!!

            If only Ozil had been able to have you as his coach Jon, imagine what he could have achieved in life!!!

            Still, my old friend, I am personally content with what I saw last night- as is UE it seems.

          3. Ken, This is in reply to your second post, replying to mine(no direct reply option attached). Your penultimate sentence, written sarcastically, is worth amending to read thus:”If only Ozil had been coached by a manager at Arsenal who completely forbade laziness and idleness on the pitch, he(Ozil) would have been moved on years ago, long before UE even came, and this site then might have something fresh to debate, instead of this same old Brexit-long farce debate, where some choose wilful blindness about his laziness, while others do not”. No sarcasm by me Ken. Merely the plain unvarnished, undiluted truth from this realist, as ever.

          4. Ah Jon, therin lies the problem…would you not say that Ozil has been coached / managed by some of the finest in the business, whilst playing at the finest clubs in the world?

            They never seemed to worry about his perceived “laziness”, bug concentrated on the natural skills that saw him win every available award / title available to a professional footballer…they utilised and harnessed the man’s natural abilities and didn’t try to change him into something he never was and never will be.

            That, it seems, is what you want to do and, along with UE, the utter folly of trying to change something that works perfectly, was so evident last night.

            I am certain you didn’t miss the chanting ( that Phil and I tried to tell you happened at every game ) from our fans?
            It even eclipsed the famous Kop roar at times – indicating with the utmost certainty, that “justarsenal” does not represent the vast majority…good a sight as it is in most cases.
            Do you really believe that all these fans are wilfully and blindly ignoring his “laziness”, or could it be that they are right and you are wrong…as a poll result, our away fans certainly didn’t leave a hung parliament did they?

            Of course I replied with friendly, gentle sarcasm, we are old enough to discuss matters in this way, but the plain, unvarnished truth is that you have been wrong about Ozil from the very beginning and, as you have gracefully done with UE, one day you will admit as much.

          5. In reply to your latest post, when exactly do you think I will be wrong about Ozil Isuggest the 12th of Never! It is you wilfully blind fan boys and adults who Oziulstill has, who willnever admit you are wrong. Answer me this the Ken, If he is as great as you claim, how come Wenger- your hero remember- hardly EVER played him in the latter period and why does Emery also ingore him., and also why are no clubs remotely intereted in him, even though they know AFC would be so keen to be rid of him they would gladly pay a substantial part towards his new wage, rather than be lumbered with the whole of it till this disatrously awarded contract eventually expires? Care to answer MY questions for once Ken? I suggest you know precisely why but will not admit you are so utterly wrong to laud a player without backbone, any guts at all on the field and honour to live up to his contract by giving his utmost!

          6. Jon, of corse I will answer your questions, please do me the courtesy of answering mine also…otherwise it becomes a com pletely fruitless exercise.

            1. AW did play him, unless he was injured- this was one of your cosistent complaints about Ozil being his favourite.

            2. UE doesn’t play him it is alleged, because he was unfit and not performing at training sessions – there have been two miraculous recoveries when results started to go wrong…firstly the Forest game when he played 60 minutes and captained the side and secondly against pool last night.
            This dramatic recovery has seen UE declare he substituted him in order for the player to be ready for the Wolves game.

            3. The reported£350,000 a week, an absurd figure I think all fans agree, is why no other club would take over the contract…but The Arsenal have stated they do not want to sell him as he is part of the future plans.

            4. No backbone? After being singled out by the german fa, being targetted by thieves and threatened with violence against his family, being treated with disdain by UE – your hero who was going to give you your Arsenal back – the one you insisted had to be given at least three years to sort out the mess he inherited – the one you now want out as soin as possible- that hero Jon – who after playing only 120 minutes of competitive football, was unanimously given man of the match by no less than admin martin!!!
            No backbone? No guts? No honour re. his contract? Why have so many of us got it wrong and you have got it right ( the chanting of our away fans – no hiding from that fact ).

            Now I think I’ve covered your questions Jon, what about you trying for once to answer my questions?
            There are only four, the same number as you asked me – I await with bated breath – will you finally get to answer direct questions that have been put to you?

        3. So would you not agree that since then , they have regretted giving him that contract?
          I have decided we can’t be successful on the pitch under Koronke because after over a decade ….we havn’t ( did you not watch the Final in Baku)
          Are we not further away from being champions then any point during his time as owner ?
          Numerous examples over the years where we have sold best players , not paid the going rate for players , not gone that extra mile for a player
          Example we needed a defender in the summer , got David Luiz ?
          We needed a top manager to replace Wenger , went for cheap option
          Wasn’t there a thing last season that came up about him never putting his finger in his own pocket , the only owner not to yet one of the richest men in the world

          1. dan Smith, not sure if this was meant for me, but I always try to answer questions, so here are my answers.

            1. kronkie couldnt care less, its peanuts to him…thd presenf board do though, as it now forms the basis of all future contract negotiations.
            2. kronkie isn’t in charge of team selection, tactics, players, their contracts…thats why he employs others to do those jobs…one of whom , in UE, is not up to the required level to win anything at The Arsenal.
            3. Yes we are further away than ever and I agree with all your following points bar one, the final one.
            4. I don’t know how true it is, but there was also a report that sais kronkie supplied the money for the transfers from his own pocket…I guess you take your choice regarding who you believe…but does it really matter?
            As a fan, I only care that, as long as it is not corrupt money, the regime use it wisely…something that AW, in his time, and our new regime have most certainly not done, but name me one club who have never made mistakes with transfers.

      2. @Dan Smith
        The argument that benching Özil is all about freezing him out of Arsenal to make money has very little logic to it, and seems like free fantasy . If Kroenke really is a shortsighted money grabbing owner exercising power by telling Emery, who to pick, it could just as well go like this:
        He would tell Emery to pick him for every match
        1) To save money on loaning/renting a player like Ceballos
        2) Boost shirtsales, as Özil probably still would sell more than Ceballos, Willock, Xhaka etc.
        3) Maybe increase Özils value so he actually could be sold without loosing money

        1. 1- in an ideal world it’s cheaper to sell Ozil and say he’s been replaced by a player who we don’t have to pay a fee for
          2- you think adidas only sold shirts because of Ozil?
          3- reports say they have sounded out clubs but have accepted no one is going to match that salary, so they will take a loss
          please remeber why Ozil was given such a contract?
          It was because yet again we were selling our best player to a rival so from a PR perspective they had to keep him
          Have you not noticed wage bill is lower then last year ?

          1. There is absolutely nothing in your 1-3 or in your other “theories” that can substantiate, benching Özil is/was a decision taken by Kroenke. As already pointed out, if the real motive is only money short term, it would probably be more profitable to insist on playing him.

            I agree with your point on why Özil was given his current contract, and I remember clearly. What I also remember, is that already then many fans thought it was the wrong player, we did so much to keep, because they were “tired” of Özil’s poor showing against the big teams and his lack of fight for the team.

            I admit I don’t know the exact numbers of our wage bill, so please enlighten me.
            However, a lower bill this year, would in my opinion make sense for many reasons. One is, that we have offloaded some of the deadwood, including mkhytarian who was very expensive. Another is, our decline from a Top 4 club playing CL to a Europa League Club has meant a big drop in revenue and expenditure will have to be adjusted accordingly. I see nothing wrong there.

  5. Eddie, you assume this and you assume that regarding why Özil is or is not playing. I trust that you remember the old adage that “assumption is the mother of all f..kups”.

    We cannot go into the minds of Emery or Özil and pretend to know what they are thinking. He played well last night. Give him credit and if you want to see him again, make your voice heard. But speculation about what the electrons in Emery’s or the Board’s are doing is nonsensical.

    1. Bro it’s no assumption, it was revealed in David Ornstein’s podcast last season, I submitted the full transcript and it was posted on here as an article. It’s what Ornstein revealed the board are trying to do with Ozil. It’s no assumption, use the net and search for it

      1. @Eddie
        I would take what that guy Ornstein says with a grain of salt. Isn’t he the one who crushed our transfer hopes when he claimed our budget will be around £40M or maybe £50M tops. In fact, he is directly responsible for starting that irrelevant £40M budget rumour. Josh Kroenke on the other hand promised us the club is working on a big deal and it did turn out to be true.

  6. He had a good game against kids in not the most elite competition. There was more space in their defense (and ours) than a piece of Swiss cheese (Xhaka?)..so that’s a perfect place for ozil. To thrive seeing as he needs to show something.

    Put him against at the big boys who jossle, press and give no quarter and he seems to fall apart. Hardly ever shows up on a big night when his talent is in much need.

    No for me, Ozil is a luxury player and always will be and as someone mentioned feel that he will leave AFC before the manager (although he could follow shortly after;).

    I’d rather get excited by Martinelli as for his age he is phenomenal. I love how he is driven, has undoubted natural ability, scores for fun and has heart for the club and an intent to make the most of his opportunity.

    So Ozil can fade out whilst a newer and brighter star shoots into view.

  7. Discussing Ozil’s presence or absence as well as his performance is a distraction to our main problem. I know some of us will focus on individual players but we once again came shot last night because of systemic faults due to the coach. I have seen some blamed Saka for Liverpool’s last equalizer but befor that cross we had 3 arsenal players on Liverpool player that gave a pass to the player that made the cross yet he made that pass. I watched our players, all of them except Matin shadow marking, I watched them all been out of position and I watched them all of them running into space instead of closing down the players with the ball. We were disjointed and disorganized with out ball and don’t even know how to get it back. I won’t ever blame this players Emery is coaching them to be a coward on the pitch, never to be proactive but reactive so he should go. 90% our of 100 we have possession either from goal kick, freekkick or throw in. Our game is based on surrounding possessions to the opponent and that was why we kept conceding. We invite so much pressure with this way of play

    1. Well said! His coaching, if any exists and there is not any evidence of ANY real defensive coaching -is even worse than Wengers! Perhaps Emery is ACTUALLY Wenger in a facemask and a cod Spanish accent. For sure NEITHER of then can see how disastrously absent is ANY evidence whatsoever of defensive coaching. In fact and to be serious, the defence is EVEN WORSE now than under WENGER. That , you might think, is something that it would be impossibleto do , yet Emery has “achieved”it. He should be sacked today and would be if I owned the club.

  8. I had supported Ozil from the day he joined Arsenal. The guy just proves that Form is temporary and Class is permanent. Emery must start not only Ozil in the PL but also Martinelli and Torreira. Those two played a major part in the game and can do just that for every PL match.

  9. Emery is in more troubles if he decides to leave Ozil out of his squad. He has already lost the argument because of results, now he will be in bigger troubles if he decides to leave him out. Looking at it from all angles I think Emery is going down unless something happens with results quickly. The fans are completely tired of this situation. Our defence is abominable!!!!

  10. Allot of talk about it only being the Leauge Cup
    If he had played poorly last night you would have commented so it’s only right when he plays well you also point that out
    Else the poor lad can’t win
    Sums up our current fanbase when there are fans who are not happy that an Arsenal player is told he played well, god knows we have enough to be negative about
    Funny how Martinelli has scored so many goals but no one says its only in cups?
    Fact is there have been other games this season where you exspect us to more creative and we havn’t beeen, not Ozil’s fault others can’t do their jobs

    1. Sir, Gabriel is only 18 years old, been at the club since June, playing on a different continent, so every goal he scores has to be applauded. Years back we had a continental player – Sanogo and he failed. We also had Assano and he too failed. So I will applaud and celebrate every goal he scores. Ozil, I did applaud his performance last night (which was very rare), all I want is that he should be consistent every week as we look to him as our marquee player, but sadly he has failed more than often. All we want him is his performance, if he does it, good for all, if he doesn’t he has to take the criticism.No sentiments involved for a senior player, 6th season in progress, leave aside the wages -it should never bother us what one earns, it shout bother what one delivers/performs

  11. Apart from the discussion on Ozil, I would like to point out that how on earth we could let a 3-1 lead and 4-2 lead to slip up. The familiar Arsenal defence lapses. This was our best opportunity to win at Liverpool. Something is seriously wrong, but I still agree Arsenal played great because Pool also had Millner and Arrigi in their ranks. Emery must put his best and strongest team for the PL match against Wolves and for Gods sake give Martinelli a chance, the kid has really got his heart for Arsenal.

  12. I was sceptical of playing him away from the Emirates last night but he proved me wrong and had an outstanding game,regardless of whatever Emery’s plan was he should have stayed on the pitch.

  13. Arsene Wenger left a dog of a squad with 25 garbage players.
    Wenger basically ran the club into the ground and into the Europa League.
    He also left the club 300 million in debt.
    It’s Arsene Wenger’s fault the club is not getting Champions league money
    and thus why now Ozil’s salary has become an issue..
    Wenger’s incompetence has caused all the problems we have today.
    It will take Emery two more years to clean up Wenger’s dog of a mess.
    BTW. Chelsea just sacked Frank Lampard because they lost to United.
    Wolves just sacked Nuno because they lost at Villa.
    Spurs just sacked Pochetino because they lost at Liverpool in the league.

      1. Phil, this guy never comments after games such as palace, sheffield etc and when he does, it’s a monotonous pre-scripted jumble of absolute BS.

        Have long suspected that he is a spudulite and his “knowledge” of our club and football in general, confirms it for me anyway!!!

  14. Emery should be out after his total failure last year. He does not deserve to be cursed at and booed, doing his very best with passion, you see him lose his mind when we score and crushed when we conceid, he can’t believe nor get it.

    That’s simply shows that this Arsenal job or jacket is too big for him, Kroenke is the one who decides to hire him and will get away as coward, have fans pissed and frustrated taking it on players then raise “Emery out” signs!

    Just as our Prof, like a father he was to this clubs, fans and players. He was doing great with no money but could not compete, go further up but see other club passing us.

    The turning point is in June 2013, stadium paid for, money supposed to now be released, Suarez accepted his contract, ready to join but we will be 5 millions short. He wanted to come as he believed Arsenal would have been Champions and CL contender with him onboard 2013/2014 season.

    Next year for 2014/2015 season, a year later, Prof wants Kante, same BS, the cheap Kroenke refuses to add 5M asked by Leicester, Kante was excited to join!

    Now,with Suarez on and Kante addition, we would certainly be champions that year and serious CL contender Wenger was aiming at.

    They squeezed all they could from Wenger,he knew what he take to regain our throne and top Europe in a new paid stadium for. All that 2 decades hard work, struggling to keep us on top until stadium paid for; that’s how they did our Prof who took it all in silence, focus on his kids!

    The next two season, we did not make CL but we would have one it instead. He had it perfectly right,but got tricked, embarrassed infront of all EPL he was the most respected and best manager.

    He was furious missing on Suarez and humiliated missing on Kante both wanted to join! Ignorant fans, spoiled, sitting in a stadium built and paid for by our Prof, a father like, then kicked him out, booed by his own kids in his home asked to leave.

    That’s how Kroenke does it, he used and tricked Wenger, stadium paid for, no money!

    Wouldn’t be different with Suarez, Kante ? That’s what Prof had all planned and set up, players okayed, owner 5M short with a all stadium and CL football! Of course it was a realistic target then! Must been so embarrassing for Prof to have these 2 players everyone dreamed of, wanting to join, missing in the end for cheap bet, 5M short!

    Kroenke is a vicious business man who only knows word profit, doesn’t care for Arsenal or football nor EPL, nor fans, just the money we all bring to his bank account.

    He had his own kids chasing their father out of the house he built for them! Sinical and evil as money makes.

    Now he has Emery to totally erase Wenger like, just as he uses him to erase Ozil!

    Some fans are just pathetic, Emery is not Arsenal issue, nor players, Kroenke and dumb fans who just do what Kroenke wants, make him money and have our Prof, players booed, Emery set up to take blame, sacked and people will credit Kroenke and hard doing so instead to get rid of them…

  15. Ôzil was very good last night, no doubt about it.
    But it is way over the top to say this is evidence, he should play every time.
    The fact is, Ôzil has steadily declined since 15-16, and that is a fact. The decline has nothing to do with Emery, it started long time before. You can in fact say, it has nothing to do with Wenger either, as his decline has been constant with different managers.

    After last night, he should be given more chances. It would be great, if he can produce something similar in the PL and maybe even against some of the big teams, where he, let’s be honest, often has gone missing.

    1. Ozil bossed the game against Watford and got pulled and was not played again because Emery did not want Ozil to show his quality. The only reason why Emery played Ozil in that game was that Watford are physical and Emery thought they would push Ozil around; wsomethign they could not do because with Ceballos in the team with him, he had someone to pass to and who passed to him accurately and quickly.

      The idea that Arsenal have a better attacking midfielder than Mesult Ozil is delusional. He assists more, scores more, and controls games better than any other midfield player on the Arsenal team. That’s just fact.

      Emery does not play him because he wants to spend Ozil’s wages on other players and because he is forcing Guendouzi, who on his best day could not carry Mesut Ozil’s socks to the game, into the side because Guendouzi is the best player Emery has managed to recruit.

      The team, when fully fit, should be;

      Leno
      Bellerin, Holding, Luiz, Tierney
      Chambers, Ceballos
      Pepe, Ozil, Aubameyang,
      Lacazette

      That’s a team with good balance between defense and offense and an attacking four that would make any team in the league, including Man U and Liverpool, sweat.

  16. I was glad to see Mesut back – finally!! Just a pisser we didn’t win & what makes it even worse now, is they may forfeit the next round, due to the club world cup! Gutted!

  17. On a better note, Tierney pulled our team members back on the ground after the defeat, to go and thank the away fans. God, they loved it! Learn to respect the fans and they will respect and love you.(Xhaka?)

  18. Sky Sports just reported: Mourinho would be interested in the Arsenal job if it is made available. Mundo Deportivo reports: Isco prefers Arsenal over Man city. Wow, some news, so Arsenal is still respected and revered round the world. Concerned authorities should take note and not allow the status of our dear Club go down.

  19. Ozil bossed the game against Watford and he bossed the came against Liverpool last night.

    To say he’s not world class is nothing short of stupid. Cristiano Ronaldo counts Ozil as he favorite teammate, precisely because he is world class. no one in all of world football passes the ball like Ozil, no one sees the field like Ozil.

    As far as the games he’s played in, he can only perform when he’s on the pitch and the manager, who is, face it, an incompetent moron, makes those decisions. The idea that Lucas Torreira, Mateo Guendouzi, Joe Willock, Reiss-Nelson, Dani Ceballos or Granit Xhaka are better #10s than Mesut Ozil is beyond ridiculous, but all of those players have played more minutes at the #10 than Ozil this season.

    Emery is playing Ozil in these kinds of matches to isolate him and force him out. And yet… Against Watford, a 2-0 lead evaporated. Against Liverpool, he was withdrawn and the game fell apart for the Gunners.

    The Emery apologists and Ozil haters like to focus on what he cannot or does not do. Is Mesut Ozil a good defender? No. Does he press like a junkyard dog? No. Neither does Aubameyang, Neither did Van Persie, neither did Bergkamp. Asking a player like Ozil to play like Patrick Viera is like asking Messi to play goalkeeper. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

    Instead, look at what Ozil does do. He passes like no one Arsenal (or anyone else) can. He sees the field, moves the ball, and helps the team hold onto the ball unlike anyone else in an Arsenal shirt. He provides and air of calm and composure in critical situations. He brings assist and face it, though he’s not a great goal scorer, more goals than Ceballos, Torreirs, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Willock, or Reiss Nelson. When you let your top two scoring mmidfielders go, you are an idiot to freeze the last midfielder left that can score out of the team.

    Ozil has not “steady declined” hes’s played less, either through injury or idiocy. Anyone who believes Emery’s lies about why Ozil is not playing is a moron. Emery wants him out so he can spend his wages on players he wants. Period.

    The fact is, Arsenal with Ozil in the side are better than Arsenal without him in the side. Anyone who does not see that is delusional or lying to themselves and everyone else. Lots of so-called experts who have criticized Ozil (and continue to do so) have said repeatedly that Ozil is better than anyone else arsenal have in midfield. Unai Emery saying Mateo Guendouzi is great player does not actually make him one.

    Bottom line, Arsenal with Ozil in the side would still bein the Carabao Cup, they would have at least 7 points more than they currently do, and instead of being hoping to sneak into the top 4, they would be in the driver seat, battling Man City for second.

    1. Emery selected Ozil to play in 24 games last season, only 2 less than he played the previous season. Mezut Ozil himself admitted that he has been hampered by injuries last season.

      1. ozziegunner, last season we appeared in a european cup final, we were third, needing just two points from our last six games, had five consecutive wins in a row and your quite correct. ..UE selected Ozil in 24 games last season, was hampered by injuries and returned from a world cup where he was vilified by his national team and used as a scapegoat.

        So exactly what point are you trying to make? If it’s why on earth has UE decided to select him for just 200 minutes of football this season for no apparent reason, Iget your point perfectly. ..the man hasn’t got a clue how to utilise the fantastic group of players he currently has.

  20. Dan Smith, how is a good performance from Mezut Ozil a “nightmare” for Emery.
    Unlike a lot of so called fans on this site, Emery as coach of Arsenal wants to win games.
    Others including Sanheili and Mertesacher had supported Emery’s opinion that Ozil was lacking fitness and needed additional training.
    Emery stated in recent interviews that Ozil was training well, had recovered fitness, had overcome the trauma of the attempted robbery and now was ready to play. Accordingly Emery selected him in this match and he performed creditably.
    Emery took him off early hopefully to have him available for Arsenal’s next EPL. If Emery doesn’t select him for the next match, my assumption will be wrong.
    Emery cannot win at the moment, with people seeing conspiracies if Ozil is not selected or selected. Imagine the flak Emery would have received, if he selected an unfit Ozil, who then played poorly, or even worse suffered serious injury.

  21. Ozil showed his master class, he sees that pass no other player can, he has shown what we have been missing.We didn’t have sideways passes, back passes etc. Ozil was all about get the ball, turn the opponent inside out and release the ball to Saka and then boom the goals came through Martineli and the rest.

    Emery should now know its all about team work not being too petty not to play Ozil, Ozil is the engine of the team and dictates the tempo of our flow,seeing that match last night here from Nairobi KENYA reminded us the combination we had then with Pires/Henry, that was a James Falkland master class play production.When you are in the auditorium you would know that you simply got value for your money.

    Torreira also compliments Ozil’s game, they should always start together and then you will notice that our pace is faster, I saw it when we were 3-1 up, Klopp couldn’t believe what had hit them,reminded me when Hamilton once over took Alonso in monza. Today is all about positive vibe, let us congratulate the team when they perform well, this will lift them up.

    On Mustaphi, I noticed when the he scored goal an OWN goal, he apologized, and that is a gentleman, his game grew better. Xaka should see that eg.

    OZIL MUST START THE NEXT GAME AND ALL GAMES BACK TO BACK if we are to remain relevant this season, otherwise we will all cry end of May 2020 when we will be out of top 4, no Europa and finish in the 9th position as per my analysis!

  22. Discussing Ozil in Arsenal Now akin to Taking a Motor Engine manufactured in either Germany,the USA or England and installing it in a chasis plus the rest of the components manufactured in China then expecting the Car to compete with machines from the said countries. The team is just below par starting from the coach/ manager useless

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors