Four years ago today Arsenal signed (“The Average”) Mesut Ozil

players like Ozil always present the fans with a bit of a conundrum, especially when times are tough…if you look around the sporting world every once in awhile there emerges a player with incredible skill, like Ozil, Matt Sundin or even Jay Cutler, who have a different way about themselves…their movement seemed almost too lackadaisical, so much so that it seemed to suggest indifference or even disinterest on the part of the player…their posture always appears somewhat mopey and they generally have an unflattering “sour puss” expression on their face…for some their above average skills are enough to keep them squarely in the mix, as their respective teams try desperately to find a way to get the best out of them visa vie player acquisitions or the reworking of tactics…when things go according to planned the fans usually find a way to accept their unique disposition, whereas when things go awry they become easy targets for fans and pundits alike…in the case of Ozil and Sundin, their successes on the international stage and/or with their former teams led many to conclude that if we surrounded such talented individuals with players that have those skills that would most likely bring the best of these players success would surely follow…unfortunately both the Maple Leafs and our club chose to adopt half-measures, as each were being run by corporations who valued profitability over providing the best possible product on the field…for them, they cared more about shirt sales and season tickets than doing whatever was necessary…this isn’t, by any stretch, an attempt to absolve Ozil of any responsibility for his failures on the pitch…there is no doubt oftentimes his efforts were underwhelming, to say the least, but this club has been inept when it comes to providing this prolific passer with the kind of players necessary for him to flourish…with our poor man’s version of Benzema up front, the headless chickens in Walcott, the younger Ox and Welbeck occupying wide positions far too often and the fact that Carzola, who provided Ozil with great service and more freedom to roam, was never truly replaced, the only real skilled outlet on the pitch was Sanchez…remember to be considered a world-class set-up man goals need to be scored and for much of his time here he has been surrounded by some incredibly inept finishers…in the end, I’m not sure how long he will be in North London, recent sentiments and his present contract situation seem to suggest that he will depart at season’s end, but how tragic would it be if once again we didn’t put our best foot forward and failed to make those moves that could have brought championship football back to our once beloved club…so when you think about this uniquely skilled player don’t be so quick to shift all the blame on his shoulders because he will not be the first or the last highly skilled player to find disappointment at the Emirates if we don’t rid the club of those individuals that are truly to blame for our current woes