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