If there is one player that completely divides the Arsenal fans it is our German midfielder Mesut Ozil. We were all pleased that he decided to sign an extension last January after some brilliant performances, but after that he seemed to go back to his lethargic-looking self and was picked on for his lazy style despite still maintaining his excellent stats.
He was derided by fans and pundits alike after he seemed to go missing in our Europa League semi final against Atletico, and he wasn’t seen again until he appeared with the Germany team in Russia to defend their World Cup crown, and that didn’t go very well for him either.
He was rounded on by the German fans for his photo with the Turkish president and then blamed for his national team’s exit from the Group Stages of the World Cup. Even now he is still hounded and told to apologise to the German people or risk being left out of the Germany side in the future.
His father tried to defend him, but Ozil himself has refused to comment, which has only brought more criticism down on his head. Why on Earth would he even want to return after the way he was treated by them?
Ozil had many more breaks than the other Arsenal players last season, with Wenger citing ongoing injury problems when pushed, and now Unai Emery has also been asked if the German’s inconsistency could be a problem next season but the new Boss just thinks that Ozil needs a good rest and relaxation. “We are here to help every player,” Emery said. “For us Mesut is a very important player. We want to help to be well, fine with us.
“The national team didn’t get the results they want but today he is on holiday, and I want him to relax well and I want, when he comes back with us, to start with a good mentality. I want to work with him with a new way and with an ambition to continue with this quality and to help him to get better with the team.”
“Last year was a difficult year for all the team, not only for Mesut. They finished sixth in the Premier League – not the position we want.
“Now it’s a new way. With all the players I want to give them confidence, to give them a chance every day in their work. With quality work it is very easy to arrive at the performance, individual and collective. Mesut is on holiday and I want him to be tranquil and calm.
“We want the international players to come back quickly and start practising hard with us. But it is also important for them to have holidays because the season is very, very hard and very, very long. They need holidays to come full of energy for the start and to give us this quality and this energy in the team.”
With Germany’s early exit from the World Cup, Ozil should start training with the Arsenal side ahead of the tour of Singapore, which starts in 12 days time, but having had such a hard time do you think that Ozil should be given an extra week or two to get over his summer from hell?
Having to leave the World Cup already after the group stage hurts so much. We just weren't good enough. I'll need some time to get over it. #SayNoToRacism #Worldcup #Russia2018 #M1Ö pic.twitter.com/mFOOhYQZen
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) June 29, 2018
Sam P
Giving him the entire season, won’t clear his head. What will is his determination and attitude of players around.
Thank you very much.
You won’t be moaning when’s he’s banging in the goals & assists next season! Can’t wait for him to shut all you haters up!! He works harder than you think!
@sue. Lol. The guy is turning 30 years old in October. He has been here for 5 years and where are these Goals and Assists you keep promising us apart from excuses for him.
Imagine Ozil in his 20’s keep being labelled a liability and lazy. Just now think about ozil in his 30’s. Will make Mertesacker look Sanchez. Lol
Just look at the stats, that’s all I have to say
@sue. He averages about 8 assists a season. Averages about 5 goals a season. Goes missing in big or crucial games. Jogs for 90 minutes wach game.
All that for only £300,000 a week.
Amazing stats. Isn’t it?
He became the fastest player in prem league history to reach 50 assists…..
But he averages about 8 assists per season. 4-5 goals a season. And we pay him £300,000 a week. Smh
If he averages 8 a season well then someone better strip him of his assist record. He was directly involved with 17 goals last season, assisted 12 and scored 5. The season before he was directly involved with 24 goals, assisted 18 and scored 6. He is also indirectly involved with allot of our goals and assists.
Smh Goonstar at your so called stats
He needs a kick up the arse. No soft soft aproach. Someone needs to splap him out of the funk and let him no he is good but has to work hard.
Ozil knows best (okb) and mesut out brigade (mob) loading…
I hope Ozil thinks about why people in general are so negative towards him. It’s not he is a great player, but he “seems” lazy. I’ll pray 4 him.
Ozil is quality and not lazy as labelled not all player needs be a Goliath, he’s technically gifted and just lacking the due support he needs and the slamming coming from him left right center is as a result of the team general attitude…. Ozil needs a strong environment to foster well. Give ozil to man-city and the press story will never remain thesame.
If Ozil intends being progressive in his career he needs to wake up to himself. He`s got to ask himself a few hard questions and be told a few hard truths. He has all the money he needs to live on easy street, if that`s how he feels then retire, on the other hand if playing football at this level is essential to his well being then he must be honest with himself and come down from the mountain. A few words from Emery will draw his attention to this but only he can put it right.
Let him just report back and prove to every one that its not what people say that matter
?
In my humble opinion Ozil doesn’t have that unquenchable urge to win, almost in the way Ronaldo is to Messi where one is a born winner and the latter an immense footballing genius but not an out and out winner. Ozil will always underachieve because he doesn’t appear to be desperate to chase down a player if he loses possession, throw himself in on a 50/50 to get a goal….. having him in your squad is like owning a second hand Ferrari: When it’s working it’s a joy to behold but when it’s not running well it’s a total liability…
Great analogy ?
Under achieved??? Played for Germany 92 times with 23 goals and 40 assists Involved in 63 goals. Also Germany’s player of the year 5 times. Fastest player in the Premier league to 50 assists. In World Cup 2010 also nominated for player of rhe tournament. I don’t think a lot of the ArsenL supporters realize how top a player he really is.
I don’t get why people always call him lazy and so many names just because he’s a shy player… If you’re observant you’ll know easily that man is an introvert, that man hates being in the spotlight, he just wants to always play his ball and go home.. right from his Madrid days he’s always avoided the spotlight, every of his efforts and assists were not so hyped as it would be if it were someone else. He just gets the recognition like Yes he’s creative and he assists a lot”.. Imagine all the hype Xavi got for his assists, Imagine all the hype and protection Fabregas got for his assist, but the moment he came to Arsenal he got into the spotlight and every time we lost a game he played, the fans all name him as part of why we lost. Despite all the bullshît, he still doesn’t come out to start saying stuffs, Tbh like his dad said if I was Ozil I’ll quit the national team, everyone of em had a bad game, No one is talking bout Muller who was dreadful all match.. Ozil doesn’t owe nobody an apology. I’m just glad Emery says he plays to help him, we can only pray and hope he gets over this depressive ride he’s been going through. I pray none of you fans who cuss him won’t have to go through the same thing he’s going at your individual working place
Bro. Its not about assists. We have been goijg on about it for ages. A midfielder should never be that one dimensional. You have to combine at least 2 aspects to be a more appropriated midfielder;
1. Assists and score goals.
2. Be hard working and dominate the midfield.
3. Be hardworking and a goal scorer.
4. Be hardworking and very good defensively. Etc..
But just saying “so and so is only good creates 1000 chances” blah blah is One dimensional to me. Ozil on £300,000 a week and constantly being flaunted as world class and our best player should surely be more than just “He creates chances”. Compare him to player before him the we used to label as world class or our best. Does he even compare to their overall game?
But this is where you are so totally wrong.Not ALL midfielders play the same way.
Torreira will no doubt base his midfield duties differently from Ozils.The emphasis he will have is on defensive cover and movement whereas Ozil has in his movement is finding space for creative attacking play.Ramsey as more of a B2B player will combine some of each.Why would you want Ozil chasing 50yards back to put in a challenge?I would rather see him do FIVE 10 Yard sprints going forward.
Ozil has become an easy target for some.Trust me when I say we would miss Mesut Ozil more than ANY OTHER PLAYER if he left.The new Manager recognises that Ozil is a prodigious talent and will use a system to get the best from the player.This is something Wenger failed to do.
For me to hear him called a midfielder is wrong anyway ,a playmaker should have one job and is to dictate the play through him and then him to make something happen ,I just feel the way we set up dosent get the best out of him,when you have midfielders running and bombing forward ,then In turn leaving gaping holes in the areas that Ozil is working .theres no doubt his class but maybe he’s just been either playing for the wrong team or playing in a set up that doesn’t work for him
@phil. Sorry to disappoint you but football has moved on. Every player has to do more than one thing. Teams press as a whole nowadays. And Ozil needs to realise that those times of him calling Sickies are over. No more excuses. Ozil needs to press from the front, if Aubameyang and Lacazette keep doing it when they are supposed to be our strikers then why not your boy Ozil? This is why I am ready for a new Era. I respected Wenger, liked Wilshere and bought into this Ozil should create nonsense.
But i called bullscrap on all of it, Wenger can go, Wilshere was given enough chances and Ozil’s excuses were getting me tired. I was ready for all of Wenger, Wilshere and Ozil to be shipped out. 2 gone and one lis left (Ozil).
Now he has to get serious or our criticism is going to be worse than he is getting in Germany right now. It is time for us the fans to be looked after now. These cutie players are getting paid vast amounts but deliver the bare minimum and are full of excuses.
Hope this is a new start and no more fanboyism and excuses for our personal favourite players.
Goonstar, The term “midfielder” is a vast garden full of totally differnt flowers. Midfield encompasses very many totally different types of player, of talents, of combinations of those talents and of lack of some talents but one special skill in one particular aspect. To compare one midfielder with another and to be accurate in your assessment is extremely difficult. Ozil , for example, is to Torreira what mayonnaise is to margerine. It is true that SOME midfielders are similar in style and strengths / weaknesses to many others BUT at Arsenal in this era, there is no one else remotely like Ozil. This is not to big him up and I am not his greatest fan- which does NOT mean I am not an admirer of his brilliance – his varying effectiveness in games from sublime to awful, frustates me . And others too. But it would be crazy not to recognise his immense natural talent when at his best, or even when only NEAR his best. Like many other fans, I pray that Emery can get his best from him far more often than ever did Wenger. And I believe he will too!
@jon fox.. I know about what constitutes a particular midfielder. That is why i said each and every so called midfielder should be able to do more than on thing. Being one dimensional causes divided opinion. Ozil should be able to do more than just ‘Chances Created’. For a player that spends so much time in and around the opposition penalty area he should have more Goals and Assists. The guy literally plays as a second striker..
I understand the point you are making and I’ve said before that although I love him as a player I totally get how frustrating he can be seen to be.Lets not forget that up until January his Strikers were
Giroud-NO PACE NO MOVEMENT NO RUNS TO WORK WITH
Walcott-NO FOOTBALL BRAIN.FULL STOP
Sanchez-NO THOUGHT OF TEAM PLAY.ONLY PLAYED FOR HIMSELF
This coming Season the options are more obvious and more to his strengths.Abamayang and Lacazette.ALL PACE AND MOVEMENT.Mikytarian.This player has everything for inter play within an attacking framework.AND FINALLY.A manager that has STRENGTHENED the DEFENCE and will use a DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER in TORREIRA.
Let’s not forget players of Ozils ability are not easy to find.Especially with the restricted budgets in place at the Club.Remember how barren we seemed to become when Dennis Bergkamp was suddenly not here when he retired.
I’m confident Emery will get the balance to suit Ozils game more than Wenger was ever able to.But I do agree the player MUST perform this season.
Phil you mention bergkamp ,you said ozil is our 1 true world class player ,what would that make bergkamp,because if I would put them side by side there would only be one winner there ,he was what you would call a once in a lifetime player .
Bergkamp was without doubt a football genius.I certainly am not suggesting Ozil is of that quality because there will NEVER be a better footballer at Arsenal.But he was the last Playmaker we had until Ozil was bought.And Ozil has the talent to make himself a Legend like DB10.But not as good though
?
On your point, even world class means different things to different fans. I have actually heard Bellerin called world class, around three seasons ago. Still laughing and snorting with anger too at that nonsense. Others have called Koscielny , at his best, world class. Even though a wonderful CB when at his best , he was never world class. Not remotely. To be truly world class you need not only sublime talent but also great committment and work rate, will to win. and ability to stay fit and produce your very best almo every week. ON THAT BASIS WE HAVE HAD NO WORLD CLASS PLAYERS AT ARSENAL since the days of Viera, Henry and THAT ilk moved on or retired. This is my opinion but I have never lightly called a merely very good player, world class. Ozil is not world class , simply because he is very inconsistent in his effectiveness. You need MORE than only talent.
with his wages, I pray I go through everything he goes through .
We are tired of this Ozil cuddling. It’s a new era and he has got to man up like every other player. We might as well give him the whole season off now. Isn’t it? He is turning 30 years old in October ffs. This is why we have become a joke club. Weak players being cuddled. Stale manager (Wenger) being given contract extensions for underperforming etc. Player being given huge wages that are not deserved. No wonder we are where we are. Hope Unai can cut out this bullcrap and move us forward as a club / team.
Sam P
I quote from your last paragraph:
” but having had such a hard time do you think that Ozil should be given an extra week or two to get over his summer from hell?”
I would think that only those close to Mezut know the facts and therefore in a position to think about what Mezut should do.
The rest of us only know hearsay. Hearsay is not the starting place for forming an opinion it is the starting point only for rumors. But then you know. this.
In my opinion, rumors are at best rubbish at worst poisonous.
So why do you ask ‘what we think?” when you know that all the information we have to go on is based on ‘hearsay” ?
Ozil, Xhaka, Lichsteiner Torreira
(and if not sold) Ospina
should join the travelling squad
but for promotional purposes only.
They should all be on the bench v City.
Iwobi Elneny should train with the travelling
squad and be available to start v City.
Monreal and Wellbeck will not need any rest as they hardly played
so should travel and play a full part in the tour.
Even though Welbeck and Monreal didn’t play, I’m sure they’ve trained every day. So should pentitled to a holiday, just like everyone else! Imo
Ozil should of spit in the face of his critics by trained with the Arsenal squad but once again he goes missing just like on his zonal defending, I fear that he has physiological issues and also he doesn’t enjoy playing footbal, hope he finds his mojo soon otherwise we have to offload him in January or even loan him if it gets bad
Check your facts before talking stupid, ozil should return to training end of July after the 4 week obligation break. Slam him when he goes missing in match, don’t be a media sheep.
Little boy who are you calling stupid, it’s been reported that he will be having an extended break even if his not I was tring to suggest he should train with the squad to show his hard working unlke what people say about his laziness and his missed a lot of time last season for no reason, but i will never understand why people like you have to be so rude obviously something is missing from your life probebly a deacent upbringing
As for me all tahis players dosnt need much holidays so far they ar nt much use in there international duty,and for mesut adding another week to his holiday has noting to do with his perfomance,our expectation frm him is very much bt i dnt think he deserve this kind of critise bt i think he should sit down n examing n talk to himself n try 2 b humble and put more harkwork in order to turn things aroun
Had Germany played well and reached the finals,people would have said it was Arsenal drawing him back with lesser quality players
Anyway,the clubs have scheduled dates for player who played in the world cup to return so I don’t think one player should be given special treatment cos he had a ‘summer from hell’.
This is not the first time he is being criticised and surely won’t be the last,That’s what happensWhen you don’t justify your ‘world class’ status and wages.
Ronaldo was booed by Madrid fans last season but he came back and worked for the team,scoring important goals,even Messi gets criticised yet he comes back and shows why he is one of a kind,but what about Ozil’s response to negative comments?Words are not needed,you should be able to prove people wrong on the pitch and Ozil hasn’t been doing that,so whether he likes it or not,he’ll always be criticised until he start producing consistently and justify being a world class player
The comparison you surely have to make is with Luka Modric and Ozil comes up a long way short. The meeting with the Turkish president either shows arrogance or stupidity, not sure which. As far as the German national team goes you are making the assumption it will be his decision to make as to whether he plays. After the world cup disaster Germany may well decide to start again with younger players rather than keeping faith with the ageing team that let them down. At £300k a week Ozil will surely see out his contract no matter what. I don’t know how many years are left on it but I’m glad its you paying him and not us.
Ozil is overrated in my honest opinion…He is too one dimensional to cut it among the best playmakers in the world…I don’t remember him making defense splitting passes that people here keep mentioning..Even in his best season go and check his assists and you realise most of them were from free kicks and corners..I personally would take the likes of Isco, Silva, Fabregas, Eriksen in a heartbeat over Ozil
I think he should get back to training as soon as possible, cuts ties with the Germany team and focus on the new season.
This discussion about Ozil from Germany is politically motivated, nothing football about it, so it is best he comes to Arsenal training and tries to develop an understanding with the new coach and the system he wants to use. If he is injured (perhaps mentally), in regards to a physical issue i can understand the need for more time to heal, but otherwise, arsenal would be the best place for him right now.
?There is only one way that Ozil can overcome the doubters and that is on the football field. He has a great opportunity under Unai Emery with the strike force in front of him and the support of a proper specialist defensive midfielder and coached disciplined defense to shine this coming season.
Unai Emery has raised the issue many on justarsenal have identified, that he wants Ozil to be more selfish and drive on goal with the option of shooting himself rather than looking to pass. He has great technique, ball control and end product.
Ozil needs to get his head together as well as any fitness/injury issues, as Emery won’t let him take his little holidays. It would be a shame to see such talent wasted, as Arsenal looks far less creative when he is absent.
Arsenal play their best stuff when Ozil is heavily involved. Its been like that for ages now, used to be Cazorla but now its Ozil. This tells every manager the same thing, he is a keeper. Other areas will always be looked at for improvement before this one. Ozil is doing what he gets payed to do, create openings, string passing, find players, worry teams, keep possession, identify weak-link, he’s been doing what he gets payed to do, and his pay is so massive because he does it at a quicker and higher rate than every other play-maker bar Messi.
Opposition coaches know this and Ozil is always heavily marked.
let’s sell both ozil and ramsey and buy decent players they did a good job selling wilshire y nt this two?
We didn’t sell Wilshere.He left because his contract was up and he knew if he signed a new (reduced) one at the Club he would not be e regular first team player.
Why am I writing this?Wasthis not well documented?
?slow learners!
His song go like this… We got ozil meset ozil the man i can’t f***ing stand earns 300 and 50 grand and he can’t even stand we got wastemen ozil