I am not one of the Arsenal fans that thinks our club record signing Mesut Ozil has been a flop since his transfer from La Liga club Real Madrid last summer. But at the same time I was hoping that the Germany international playmaker would have had more of an impact in an Arsenal shirt.
I do think that the football media made too much out of Ozil’s supposed lack of form and effort last season and then it became open season on the 25-year old. He was an easy target for pundits and fans alike, never mind whether the facts backed it up.
But also, while a few injury problems have interrupted his progress in the Premier League with the Gunners, Ozil has struggled at times to really influence a game and he has sometimes looked uncomfortable or unhappy on the pitch. But maybe that does not come from football, maybe it comes from issues off the pitch and these issues could be affecting his game.
We have already heard about the accusations of infidelity and his girlfriend moving out of their shared house in London. And now, as reported by The Independent, we learn that Ozil’s family have been in some sort of turmoil for the past year or so.
Ozil sacked his father and put his brother in charge of his marketing company last year, apparently because of a marital split with Ozil’s mother. And the Arsenal star has just had to settle out of court after his father sued him for loss of earnings after the sacking. All this family strife can hardly be conducive to focusing on your job, whatever it is, so I wonder if this might explain a little bit about why Ozil has not looked as happy as he might on the pitch. What do you think Gooners?