Even the Arsenal fans who fully appreciate the silky skills, close control, vision and passing that the Germany international Mesut Ozil brings to the Arsenal party would probably still admit that they would have liked to see the midfielder have more of an influence and impact since his transfer from Real Madrid.
There are various theories as to why our club record signing has not set the Premier League alight, with some injury and fitness problems clearly affecting him at times. There is also the feeling that a lot of people in the football world, like the genius that is Michael Owen for instance, that simply do not get what Ozil does and simply take the easy optio9n of calling him lazy, despite the stats that prove the opposite.
Some of us feel that Arsene Wenger has not really used him properly either, although the boss has almost always found a place for the German in his starting line up, when he has been available. Ozil has often found himself playing on the right or the left of the front three, which I found doubly strange when we had a player like Theo Walcott sitting on the bench.
This coming season though, according to a Daily Mail report, the boss is banking on Ozil for the coveted number 10 role. It seems that he has decided that Alexis Sanchez works better on the left and so the job of creator in chief will fall to Ozil. That is what he is best at to be fair. I think that Wenger wants to show faith in him as well, because confidence is also key to getting the best from him.
Remember that game against Bayern Munich when Ozil started like a man possessed and was ripping them to shreds until he took that lame penalty? He might as well not have been playing after that, but if we can see more of the player that started the game it could be the difference in Arsenal winning the Premier League title or not. So do you think that Wenger’s plan to pin our creative game on the talents of Ozil will prove to be a masterstroke, for the player and the team in general?