To be honest I do not think that many Arsenal fans have ever thought about using the Germany international star Mesut Ozil in a deeper lying central midfield role, as the mercurial play maker is not exactly well renowned for his tracking back or his defensive awareness.
That does not mean that Arsene Wenger has never considered using the German there and after his international coach Joachim Low played the Arsenal number 11 in that unfamiliar role against a very young England team at Wembley last night I am sure that the Frenchman will at least think about doing the same.
Strangely enough, if you believe all the negative hype about him being lazy and something of a luxury player, for Arsenal at least, Ozil performed well in the middle, rarely giving up any possession and making the team tick with his movement, vision and passing ability.
Perhaps it is the extra responsibility that made Ozil more careful with his passing, but we should remember also that the stats have proved time and again that the German actually covers more ground than most in Premier League games. Maybe Wenger could use him there in a game where Arsenal expect to dominate anyway, but it might be interesting to see if he can perform for Arsenal in the centre as he did for Germany don’t you think?
Sam P.