It should not be the case, but I really think that one of the reasons why Mesut Ozil has not exactly lit up the pitch for Arsenal yet this season could be his fitness. In fact, Per Mertesacker seems to be the only one of the Wor5ld Cup winning Gunners who has been professional enough to come back and get himself right for his club.
Ozil and Lukas Podolski partied like it was 1999 and I think part of there heads are still in Brazil. Podolski has not played so we don’t really know how fit the striker is, but Ozil is a major part of Arsene Wenger’s plans so the Frenchman would play him even if he is not fully fit.
And there is certainly evidence that the 25-year old midfielder is not quite up to speed yet. If you go onto Squawka.com or another stats providing site, you can look at the performance of Ozil against Man City compared to that of Jack Wilshere, the Arsenal midfielder who was rightly named as Man of the Match. And you might get a bit of a shock.
Up until around the 50 minute mark, their performance stats are almost the same, but then Jack’s takes off while Mesut’s tails off. As the game opened up, the fully fit and in form Wilshere was able to really take advantage, while Ozil just need not seem to have the legs.
His shooting especially looked like that of a tired player, but he actually created more chances and had more attempts than Wilshere. He was frustrating but I will say again that we should stop judging him on how much he cost the club and just have a bit of patience and appreciate what he does bring us, which is a big bag of class on the ball. Give Ozil a month and I am confident that he will be having a huge influence on our games, especially if Wenger brings him back off the wing and into his favourite number 10 role.
OZIL will be UNSTOPPABLE when he returns to form. AS to when that will be… WHO the f knows…hope it’s tomorrow.
Yes. I agree with that. Please leave mesut alone. This is too much. Is it the 4th article on ozil?? Leave it. He know how to play
Good fair article well done, lets get behind our boys for a difficult but very winnable away game.
it was a good article but i gues the author didnt watch the game cause he states that mert is the only who got fit when to me he looked way off the pace v city and even slower than usual
We are in a defensive crisis tomorrow, Monreal is not fit for tomorrow but will be for Saturday, Chambers is 50/50 with tonsillitis and obviously Debuchy is injured… If Chambers can’t play then I expect the back four to be:
Bellerin Mert Kos Gibbs
That means our substitute defenders on the bench will be Isaac Hayden as a backup centre back and Ormomde-Ottewill as backup fullback? Deary me Wenger… There was no point sending Jenkinson on loan and selling Vermaelen and not bringing in at least one more defender…
Gibbs unfit tooo
And many of us who simply articulated Wenger’s failure to acquire sufficient defensive backup were told, in an article on this site, to just shut up, stop whining, and try to recognize the great the Arsenal defensive situation.
We are not 2 weeks from the transfer window close and already those fans who highlighted the defensive problems have already been proven right.
And the person who wrote the article telling fans to shut up about the obvious defensive lack of depth owes all of us an apology.
Ozil has Wingeritis.
Its what Cam’s get when
they are played on the wing 🙂
its not just what you do in the training and how you train… you must do your homework to make yourself indestructible….
Ozil for Fab
Swap deal !!!
Shut the f*ck up you SPUD
Wenger admitting we need a viera/petit type player made my day. At least now i know he’s not gone full retard. He knows what we need which is a start. Better get kondogbia or carvhalo in january then, and not pull a kalstrom.
both are young and inexperience…..
we need someone older…around the age of 27yo
Our main problem is what to do with Wilshere and Ramsey. Neither are DM’s and neither will be. But yeah I’d love Kondogbia, he’s the spitting image of Viera.
Doesn’t matter that they are not dm’s against the mancs 3 seasons ago they had the United midfield in their pockets completely bossed them and ramsey scored the only goal of the game. They need to just have the discipline to work in the 4231 system, the 4141 is no good to anyone, especially those 2 and ozil. In fact i think when Theo returns I would like to see us play our best front 6 Ramsey wilshire Walcott ozil sanchez and welbeck. With chambers and gibbs at full back and the ox and hayden on the bench our British core would then really be coming to the fore. Imagine 6 brits in our starting line up and another 2 on the bench, he’ll we could even play the chuba from the bench as well. Ok might be getting carried away a bit there but the starting line up could work if jack and rambo hold their discipline and pick their runs carefully, let those 6 loose on the yids.
Play our new 4-1-4-1 formation with kondogbia as the holding DM and jack and ramsey ahead of him. Ozil on either wing.
Tbh ozils problem is confidence right now, not where he plays. He gets the licence to play everywhere.
What are you talking about. You simply use Ramsey and Wilshere as Wenger has all along. Maybe they are not on the pitch together often. But I don’t think Ozil and Cazorla should be on the pitch together often. Plenty of playing time for both Ramsey and Wilshere.
Ramsey and Wilshere are not DMs. So what. They have not been used as DMs. They have played in a deeper role more as box to box players. Either Ramsey or Wilshere is always paired with another player serving as DM. This is NOT a major problem. Finding the right DM to play along side IS the problem.
watch him give Diaby a contract extension >_>
Look, people need to give him time and let Ozil play himself out of this bad form. I’ve seen a lot of people say that the reason Ozil has been playing poorly is because he is being played out of position on the left flank. Garbage! I’ve been watching Ozil for years. We all have, because he’s been a global superstar even since the 2010 world cup. Yet, many of his best performances have come from the very left flank people are claiming he’s incapable of playing in! In fact, the performance many to date claim is Mesut’s best in an Arsenal shirt came when he was playing on the left, with Rosicky playing in the number 10 role and Ramsey on the right against Napoli. That didn’t stop him then did it? No. He scored a gorgeously first time half volley from that side, before drifting to the right to set up Giroud’s goal. That license to roam still exists in this current formation. The problem with Ozil is purely psychological. Not in terms of desire, I don’t buy it one bit when people say he’s disinterested. He’s not, even if his style can make him appear to be. A disinterested person doesn’t show the frustration at their own performance the way he does. Ozil’s poor form can be traced as far back as the united game, when he was widely criticized for not performing in a big game (Even thought he had played two blinders against Liverpool and Dortmund earlier that week). He’s begun to feel the pressure of his price tag ever since, and that pressure began to show with his pathetically poor penalty against Marseille along with a series of poor touches when in promising positions. His frustration was clear that night even though he set up Wilshere’s second and it’s been downhill ever since. His penalty miss against Bayern (Which I feel he never should have taken consideration the pressure he was under) was an all time low for him, and I think he’s struggling to recover from it. In the games that have followed that miss, Ozil has only contributed one assist and two goals for us. Thats a contribution to a meager three goals in about 19 games. You can see the hesitance everytime he gets into a goal scoring or creating position. Very often these days he either takes the safe option or fluffs his lines completely. This is a lad that was Germany’s highest goal scorer in qualifying, but he has only scored one for his home nation since. His natural talent means he still contributes intelligently, but not as dominantly as he would like. He knows the world is watching, and when you’re as good as he is, you tend to be your own biggest critic. I however believe in Arsene, he has the right manager to help see him through this period, as he has done with several players like Ramsey, Theo, Wilshere, Thierry even Dennis Bergkamp after his miss in the 99 cup semifinal against Man U. What Ozil needs is some patience from us fans and support to see him through this. We’re in danger of repeating the same mistake when we attacked Eboue against Wigan, and he left the field in tears. Ozil left real to come to a family club like Arsenal because he wanted a club that traditionally tends to show affection to its players through tough times. I feel he’s one superb strike, or performance away from rediscovering his best form. Sometimes, that’s just what you need. Like Ramsey’s brilliant goal against wigan at the end of the 2012/2013 season, just seemed to release him from a huge weight on his shoulders. Ozil is one of the best players in the world. We all know it, so lets all try and support him and be patient with him cause we know his talent is worth the wait. Attacking him will only make things worse.
I apologize for the long essay for anyone who managed to read it. I usually try not to post because I end up spewing out everything thats on my mind, but there have been so many posts on our number 11 that I just felt I had to say something.
Wow, so many ridiculous gramatical blunders in there. JEEZ!
that is all you got from his post… oh my.
lol, I was commenting on my own post. I reread the post and realized I had made a few grammatical mistakes, but I understand your confusion seeing as my post was so long, you wouldn’t have see my username from the post when commenting.
oh wow you are the same person, lol.
I got through 2 sentences – looked good up to that point.
The big problem with Ozil on the wing is how it opens us up defensively, he doesn’t defend at all.
So saying that he can drift in is pointless if he allows right backs to go bombing up the pitch on the break.
I agree completely. Stillm he is a big boy andas such he has to learn that pressure comes with it all.
I ve been saying for years that a good psy could work wonders forArsenal.
Here here, ditto, Amen to that
Thing is until Saturday, I hadn’t seen one player actually show anything like form. However, jack and alexis have been the first to show they are back to form. We now need everyone else to start getting their heads round that tomorrow is the 9th game of the season and we need to start performing. If not perhaps chances should be given to some of the 17 players that have started 2 games or less and in 13 players cases no starts at all. I think poldi, ozil and per will be right up for it given the chance as would tr7 against his old team. I personally would go back to 4231 or even consider 352 if chambers is passed fit.
My big concern is how slow and jaded some of the players that didn’t even go to the world cup are looking. Monreal, arteta, flamini look so far off the pace it’s frightening. I think we desperately need to consider one or two out of contract players on short term deals. One I would consider is Zat Knight, he could be used to give mertesacker a breather, at 6’6 he is a like for like in terms of stature, but to be fair is a bit quicker than the bfg. We would also do worse than letting le coquelin play at full back. He has played both left and right in the.past and to be fair, I think I would play him over flamini and arteta in the middle, although diaby cannot be too far away from the starting x1 now. Wenger said he needs a petit or Vieira type, well in coquelin and diaby we have 2 players of very similar ilk to those two. They are playing well together too in the u21s. Perhaps dortmund is too soon but I expect to see a whole new team getting a chance against Southampton
Ospina
Bellerin chambers hayden ormonde-ottewill
Coquelin
Chamberlain diaby rosicky podolski
Campbell
Martinez ajayi pleguezuelo zelalem Walcott gnabry akpom
Finally, I can get to see my fantasy Arsenal team in action. Who says we have a defensive crisis?!
_____Welbeck
Sanchez Ozil Cazorla
___Wilshere Arteta
Koscielny Ospina Bellerin
_____Wenger
_____Szczesny
Wenger, last line of defence. Nobody’s getting past the Prof!!!
Opina can play centreback…we should try him there…
Other than poor fitness, lack of desire, laziness and unhappiness of not playing in the correct position, Ozil is awesome
Offer him more money and make him CAM. He will soon make good.
Bellerin, Kos, Per, Gibbs. with Hayden as back up in the Champions League. Can someone please wake me up from this nightmare. Do you have any idea how bad you have to be at your job as manager to end up with this defense by mid September?
Has any top 4 team ever been so light on Defense any time in your memory?
How come we are in this position, shouldn’t Wenger be questioned? Is he not at fault here.
This is what happens when someone has absolute power, when they dont need to be held accountable for their actions, when nobody dares say anything and they do as they please.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The system in Arsenal is broken, there are no checks and balances. The board has no power over Wenger, and he is his one man show.
During the City game there was a moment where i saw Cazorla sitting in the subs bench looking at Wenger with this, questioning, pitying, almost this resentful look on his face…. Not a good sign.