Fans are not happy with the performance of Mesut Ozil today. It seems that the general opinion is that Mesut Ozil was the worse player on the pitch today in our abysmal 1-0 defeat at the hands of Everton. Zero shots on goal, zero key passes, zero tackles and zero interceptions were recorded by whoscored who gave him Arsenal’s lowest rating, and it was rarely obvious that the German was even on the pitch.
Ozil certainly had a woeful game but he was not the only one, however, I suspect the reason he has come in for more criticism than the other players today is because he was the captain. He is our most talented player and receives by far the highest salary and therefore, more is expected from him in comparison to his teammates.
A quick look on Twitter and the anger at the German is palpable, here is just a small portion of the sort of tweets Ozil has attracted.
Where was Ozil today?? Against small teams he turns up but when it gets tough he’s nowhere to be seen #EVEARS
— Khurram (@Khurram__n) April 7, 2019
I feel Ozil is a waste of starting space to be honest. His prime and effectiveness been long gone
— Mr.TooKind (@Comemo_zw) April 7, 2019
Twitter makes me laugh. “You always single out Ozil” yes he was our captain today and dropped another shocking away day. I expect shitters from Mustafi and Elneny so don’t come with this bollox about “there were others worse than him” fucking captain, lead like a captain. ?
— Unai’s at the wheel ?? (@LeeGunner82) April 7, 2019
Ozil whenever he's needed at Arsenal… pic.twitter.com/4S31wUoUAi
— Duncan ? (@Utd_Duncan) April 7, 2019
It has to be said that there were some defenders of Ozil but they tended to get drowned out, but I do see some fickleness from a few of my fellow Gooners where he is concerned. Only last week he was being praised following a string of good performances and I am not sure it is fair to only blame him, when almost the entire team was found wanting.
The manager should also not be immune from criticism, he picks the team, the formation and employs the tactics, he is supposed to make the changes when it goes wrong and there was no sign of that today.