There is a saying that has never been truer than in modern football and that is no player is bigger than the club, a philosophy that some Arsenal fans struggle with.
Two players in particular at Arsenal, Mesut Ozil and Alex Iwobi have a hardcore group of supporters that refute all criticism of their favoured players and use every angle open to them to not only defend them but push a narrative contradictory to common sense.
Let us start with Alex Iwobi, statistics, age and yes, even his race is used to promote the idea that he is a great talent that is played out of position, not given enough opportunities, only 23 and worth an enormous amount of money while ignoring what is as clear as sunshine in front of you.
To some extent, the same applies to Ozil, he is not used correctly, he is not understood, he is the assist king, too many inferior players around and of course, there is his religion.
All this is well and good apart from one tiny little problem, we have eyes.
You see, these eyes that we possess see when Ozil cannot be bothered or when Iwobi has no end product, these eyes see that on a consistent basis these two players fail to deliver and based on their performances over the last couple of years are simply not good enough for Arsenal.
But their respective supporters simply do not see what the vast majority see, they show a passion that borders on cultism to such an extent that they are immune to how badly the players perform, it simply does not register.
But even when it does register you can take it to the bank that it is someone else fault, it will not be the fault of Ozil and Iwobi, no siree.
There is no reasoning with them and I can predict in advance the sort of comments this article will provoke, the sad thing is, the expected comments will actually prove my point for me.
But blind loyalty to a player is fine, I actually have no issue with until such a time that it starts to damage the club I love.
When that starts to happen then those defending the players, despite all the evidence to the contrary, are no longer being loyal to Arsenal, they are instead being loyal to the very people that have and continue to damage our club.
To see this any other way would be to ignore all the player ratings from all the newspapers, fan sites, Youtube channels, commentators and former players, they all read the game wrong see but Ozil and Iwobi fans did not, they all saw what we did not see, we are all wrong.
Some will call this a hatchet job, good, it is actually meant to be one and I will tell you why. Because someone has to do it.
Someone has to say enough now, these players are not bigger than Arsenal football club, they are not good enough, will not be good enough and need to go.
Cue the meltdown.
Arsenal News 24/7
Tin hat on, popcorn and beer at the ready and finger on the censor button.
Will you be joining in Martin?! ?
Only to keep it clean and respectful if I can. I will not provoke for sure.
It could be a long night ?
OT Come on Uruguay!!
The scenario you describe is perfectly true, but the key is that each individual sees it through their eyes only (sounds like a good film title!!).
I am always amazed when we discuss a match on here and, as an example, one group see a clear penalty and the other groupsee it as a dive.
That doesn’t mean one group is right or that the other group is being disloyal, it is just down to the individual, singly and then it becomes a collective.
I cannot believe that any one fan on here is being disloyal to our club…far from it…it’s our love of the club that ensures we all have our own perspective on everything to do with The Arsenal.
General relativity, Einstein.
Good point.
Even his race is used to justify that hes a good player?..how old are you martins?
Hes on the same salary as jenkinson..what extacly do you want from him? Did he bench a more superior winger?..i dont see you people throwing such dirt on jenkinson,
The only complete players i know are messi and ronaldo..and perharps admin martin..why the hate? Is it his fault hes make shift full time winger, a big void he had to fill after sanchez.
Is it his job to score goals? Not primarily..its the primary job of auba and laca…
Is it his job to create chances and pressurise the opposition? Does he do this job? I let your conscience answer…
You just hate him, simple
Actually Ozil earns a little bit more than Iwobi, but, apart from that, your thoughts need to be answered by admin martin!!!!!
300k more
A little bit!!!!!
Davin, that comment was tongue in cheek!!!
In actual fact, the rest of the post could, loosely, be about either Iwobi or Ozil and that was the point I was trying to make….
No hate, he is just not good enough.
That’s it Martin as soon as you talk Iwobi down the hate word comes out .
He’s an atrocious football player ,if his fans want to protect him that’s fine but all your doing is hurting the club in the long run .players with his skill set belong in the 1st division ,not at a top premiership club ,if emery carries on playing him then I can’t see him lasting past Xmas in the job .
And this fanstasy about him playing number 10 is just that fantasy .but I suppose he is the pre assist king and nutmeg god .
And don’t forget he is tearing up the ACON at the moment
This is a class for chemistry and both iwobi and ozil are two examples of the same problem but from two different paths.
Ozil, once with Sanchez Giroud and Walcott ahead of him he has different options. Pace, strength and accuracy…wengers fa cup formula centred around the deeper ozil cazrola wilshire/Ramsay.
After the World Cup, he reached his peak. From there it was a slow ride down. Disowned by his countrymen, already had disgruntled arsenal fans and his replacements went on under Zidane and won the champions League. Di Maria kept PSG high in the rankings, while arsenal fell away.
We had new ideas, the likes of young was back in. Torriera Gendouzi Holding Bellerin ESR and Iwobi.
He was told make mistakes, but the demands are too high from fans because of our frustrations and this limits what iwobi and co do. A cycle of destruction.
Iwobi, unlike ozil is not talented. He is more like Neville. Works hard to be good. That’s ok, just Neville had the will to win. Iwobi needs that! His ability to improve is dependant of many factors.
Ozil, won’t be given a new contract unless he is offered 50k a week. A huge drop but equal to output for an aging player. If he is worth £30m today, it’s a drop of £2.5m a season in value. An increase in his wage makes this situation painful.
Ifs it’s costing arsenal, we should be concerned. The current team costs £300m imo. First team, not what we spent, but what we have as value….Holding £35m…Laca £50m… (actual spend is closer to £200m)
Do players need to go if they cost us to have them?
Hard he to answer if kroene is sending £254m over ten years back to himself. Mak No money in the uk and spending it in the us!!!!
Not sure about Iwobi yet, i think he’s a good player with a lot of potential but needs to build confidence. As for Ozil, I know the fans will start crying, (I was one of them) but his attitude combined with the amount he is being paid has got to be really bad for the morale of the whole team. If any of us mere mortals put as little effort into our jobs and/ or spoke to our manager the way he did last season we would get sacked. he is getting paid a crazy amount of money to do a job but clearly has no pride in the shirt he wears and no love for the club. get rid of him ASAP please Arsenal and give his shirt to someone… anyone with some passion. Been supporting this team all my life (53 years) and never been so ashamed of a player ever. He is a cancer in the team, get him gone fast.
Compare Ozil’s stats in 2018-19 season to those of Santi Cazorla at Villarreal..
The man nearly had to have his foot amputated, hadn’t played for 2 years, 5 years older- and still managed more games, goals & assists!
I loved Ozil when he scored 19 assists and nearly got Henry’s Pl assist record.
But Ozil proved to be a one season wonder. The last 3 seasons have been dismal and he doesn’t defend or try and get the ball back
That’s one reason I like Zaha. Zaha defends and tries his best
We need either a creative winger like Ryan Fraser or another CAM, because Ozil is now more of a liability.
Ozil has two of the best strikers to feed and a defensive midfielder behind him but still plays poorly
Ozil needs to go
And he comes of the bench as performs better than anyone else against Chelsea at the Europa League final? Common buddy!! Use u r eyes….
Iwobi has become the easiest target for people . We have to flanks so who plays as the RW for Arsenal .
Its almost as if people skip Miki so they wont do a comparison with Ozil as well . Ozil was a gifted player but he shouldn’t be a regular anymore .Same way Mata is to united .I strongly believe Miki would have done better if allowed to play the Creator role .
Sentiments are holding us back .IF getting rid of IWobi , Ozil ,Miki will make us better i say do it .
For Iwobi i hope goes where he can develop and be appreciated . I once argued if IWobi could play as an attacking midfielder and i stumbled on his academy clips and again watched him open and create spaces in that final against Chelsea. The lob pass to Lacazette. there is talent but the young man needs a lot of work . As for Ozil he should find his love for the game because i think he somewhat looks disinterested sometimes and i mean this in a good way. i would rather have a functional Ozil than whoever or whatever that was from last season ,
Here we have 2 players in 2 separate age and wage groups being compared and one is blamed for the lack of interest of the other. Iwobi is not world class, is about average but gives his best on the pitch. Same does not hold good for the other. We know it hate as per the language used on this site. In the previous post someone equated Iwobi to “sh*t” which is slander, we can say his performances are poor, never the player. Same applies to Ozil too. As matured adults, we need to draw the fine line with the words used. In my opinion, Iwobi is best as a squad player or impact substitute, it is not his fault if the coach starts him. After reading the abuse and seeing his development stall, prefer if he moved clubs as this would resolve this debate. Anyways, save for Laca and Auba, none of the remaining players would even make it to the Invincibles bench, so low is our quality today.Have Mkhi, Xhaka, Elneny, Kolas done nothing wrong so far,that Iwobi gets the bricks as usual? Remember we ain’t discussing chess, this is football, a team sport and all the players and coach should hang their heads down in shame for letting the UCL chances slip from our grasp.
Iwobi is homegrown academy boy. He is on manageable wages for the club, he doesn’t moan when benched.
He is a first team material, but he is a very impactful squad depth player, like we saw against Chelsea in Europa final recently. Selling him unless for big money, which is very unlikely for him to fetch, doesn’t make economic sense for a club on tight budget like Arsenal.
It’s ridiculous comparing Iwobi with Ozil. Those who do this are clearly being mischievous, and are in no way thinking clearly.
Ozil is on a star man salary, but delivers a squad player performance majority of the time. He aged badly and we must come to accept that at this point, there is no longer any economic sense in keeping Ozil. He must go, comparing him with a squad depth player like Iwobi, who is only playing first team because we lack key personnel(Wingers), only emphasize why Ozil on his current wages is an economic disaster for AFC, and has got to go.
*He is not a first team material*
Admin, an edit option on this site would be highly appreciated.
This is obviously a troll article but I can’t help it LOL.
Iwobi:
First, everyone seems to overlook the fact that Iwobi is the only one who can “dribble”. It offers something different to our attack since opponents has to double team him and it provides space for overlapping fullback.
Second, it seems everyone prefer Zaha but do I need to remind everyone how piss poor Zaha in his youth? He couldn’t break into United first team and was struggling real hard to improve his finishing. According to PL official website, before 2018/2019 season he never registered double digit goals.
from left to right (season, team, apps, subs, goals)
2018/2019 Crystal Palace 34 (0) 10
2017/2018 Crystal Palace 29 (1) 9
2016/2017 Crystal Palace 35 (1) 7
2015/2016 Crystal Palace 34 (4) 2
2014/2015 Crystal Palace 31 (8) 4
2014/2015 Manchester United 0 (0) 0
2013/2014 Cardiff City (Loan) 12 (7) 0
2013/2014 Manchester United 2 (2) 0
2012/2013 Manchester United 0 (0) 0
and I remember reading an article where his ex-team mate described him along with Dimitar Berbatov as the laziest players he ever worked with.
Ozil:
Yea this one I couldn’t defend since he could be much more.
But it is strange his salary keeps being mentioned, it’s not like he put guns on the Gazidis’ head or something, Arsenal could always walk away from the negotiation. It is purely Gazidis fault and honestly everyone from planet Earth (bar maybe Mother Teresa) would sign that lucrative contract.
Nice read 350oz, how easily we get carried away, not focusing on the goals stats. At that age, Wilf was no better that Iwobi in the end output,however both players give their best on the field, and good luck to both.Would like to see Wilf as an AFC player, but we have to sort out the mess in defense and central midfield. Ironically, during Wenger’s era we desperately needed a CF, DM and GK, in Emery’s era we have top quality CF, DM and GK, but the rest areas are in the doldrums.
You can’t compare Zaha with iwobi ,only a fool would do that .
Open your eyes and watch them don’t write down silly stats to try and make him look better .we get it your Nigerian fan not an arsenal fan ,when he leaves will you carry on supporting arsenal ?
WTF man, whatever nationality as long as he is an Arsenal player I will support him.
If you watches Arsenal in 2018/2019, you must notice the only player that could take on players is Iwobi. So no coincidence that Emery rates him highly, plays him often and even gives him license to make mistakes.
Do you watch football matches using your butt?
“Do I watch football using my butt”
No as a matter of fact I don’t
Talking of butts though ,your a fan of iwobis massive one ?
Thanks Bob, it is saddening that many fans are quick to dismiss our own players, especially the one who came through academy like Iwobi. I do hope that given time and proper coaching under Emery, he could achieve greatness in Arsenal.
I remember in the EL final someone mentioned Iwobi would score a goal deflected of Welbecks butt!This is the level of our supporters.True Iwobi scored a stunner, he will improve as he plays more either for AFC or elsewhere. As for Ozil, the less spoken the better.Once upon a time Pele and Maradonna rocked the football world, that does not mean they are fit for the pith today. Same applies to Ozil, the most depressing figure I have seen in an AFC kit. And luckily my name is not Martin Keown.
So you have a pop at fans who don’t support one of our players but in the same post you slag off Ozil twice ,how are you any different to the fans you talk of .
LOL, that’s a funny one Bob haha. Yes I think Iwobi is improving under Unai and hopefully would continue to develop.
Pal, I wish Ozil all the best in his professional and personal life, good person off the field, and being an AFC player, support him to the core. Just want the guy to put some effort on the field. Unfortunately “some” fans use slang and slander for AFC players. If they are not good, use decent language.
I couldn’t agree more on 350zil.
Iwoby, however, I’d give another season. Purely because he’s 23 and should be given another chance. He’s not on craazy wages either. I wouldn’t like to see him turn into a Ramsey somewhere else, you know.
As far as Iwobi is concerned, I guess I would say that, given his age, that whilst he perhaps isnt quite good enough at the moment, he might improve over the next year or two. So the correct approach with Iwobi is to ask how much would it cost us to replace him with someone better? Are any of our youth team prospects better? If we sell Iwobi and get a reasonable amount of money for him and maybe we get someone lke Ziyech instead then I would probably be in favour of that.
As for Ozil, Im not overly impressed with him at the moment, but I respect his talent and wish that he would demonstrate it more often. Honestly, I would like to see him sold for a reasonable fee, best for him, best for us, but I suspect that the answer to this situation is that it doesnt really matter what fans think. He has a contract, no one else seems to be keen on taking him on, so unless he breaches his contract, (gross insubordination?) Arsenal are stuck with him. Maybe Arsenal can reduce the cost of having him on the books by loaning him out to another club, but Arsenal would have to shoulder the cost of most of his salary to do so. As such I guess the hope is that Emery can find some way to get more out of Ozil, not in defence of Ozil, but purely trying to make the best of a bad situation.
Admin Martin-I cannot believe how “Tame” the replies were on this Topic Headline.Even you were battening down the hatches overnight in readiness for the expected barrage.
So why do you believe this is so?My take on it is probably because it’s simply a choice of each individual supporter and you yourself have pointed this out.But you have missed the main issue when it comes to Iwobi and EXACTLY WHERE this support comes from.Its AFRICAN fans that are on here blowing this talentless player up to be like the second coming of Messi.And DI NOT TAKE THIS AS A RACIST REMARK.It is not and nor am I.It is just the plain and simple truth.
For every 25 minute performance as the EL Final he produced howlers like the 45 minute first half performance v West Ham at the Emirates where he was so bad he was fortunate not to be off before then.This is a player that had an opportunity this season and all he has done is confirm what the very vast majority of supporters know-he Just is not good enough to play Premiere League football.
He is defended by his countrymen because they have no choice.Most is their players will never make a living out of professional football save for the odd one or two.So they protect Iwobi because they feel that patriotic need to do so.There can be no other reason.
How many Arsenal fans come on here defending Jenkinson?That says it all.He is English.I am English.Would I ever want him playing for Arsenal?Never in a million years.He is a Championship Level Player at best and I would say that about him because this is an undeniable fact.He is a fellow countryman but he is a very very mediocre footballer.Simple fact and simple truth.If only the Africans on this site would put their blind obsessive faith in Iwobi to one side and actually thought rationally about the player they would find themselves agreeing that he is at best a Championship Level player with ability to match Jenkinson.
There is no future for Iwobi at Arsenal if we seriously expect to improve the Club.And a certain Reiss Nelson will be back this season.He will be brought into the team gradually and this boy has potential.If his attitude and desire are correct then it’s Iwobi whobeill be gone.Snd not a minute too soon as far as I’m concerned
????
Couldn’t have said it better Phil
Agree on Jenkinson, but Phil please name 1 player, just 1 player, that is available under Emery in 2018/2019 season and could dribble better than Iwobi. I beg you!
Ok-I get what you are saying.He gets the ball and takes players on.Then what?He runs down blind alley’s and continually gets into positions and then does not have the footballing ability to deliver.His decision making in the final third is awful.He crosses to nobody.He has the shooting power of a 3 year old.Time and time again we watch him fail to deliver yet you seem to feel he is doing his job simply because he takes players on.You can’t teach or coach someone who has no football brain.Theo Walcott is a prime example of this.He had everything except a brain.Yet at least Walcott was a threat.Iwobi never has been and never will be.
Yes regrettably you are correct regarding his end product, but I believe he still has potential. In Europa League final, he scored a stunner, was creating chances and almost assisted Lacazette and Auba >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON4_ATpgOUY
I guess he needs to find consistency in his game and at the very least he could function as an impact sub next season.
I agree on Theo Walcot as he was given too much time in Arsenal. But to be fair, I remember Ramsey was ridiculed by our very own supporters and now he is missed by many.
Xaka errors have led to the most goals conceded expecially during wengers era.
A certain Sterling was poor in front of goal for Liverpool years ago…todays its a diff story.
Does iwobi errors lead to goals?
You iwobi haters that are employed are you the best in your dept? Do you make mistakes? Does your errors lead to loss of finances like xaka?
Iwobi is a squad player..on a squad players wages…ozil is on an executive directors wages…
Truth like smoke cant be hidden…xxnf,phil and co you hate iwobi simple..fortunately and unfortunately for you a professional coach called emery believes in him..all this hate and negative energy breeds sickness..
Yes afriacans are struggling in the epl especially the one in your head, not the real one..because in reality the golden boot winners are all african
Actually I’m a building by trade and if I make mistakes that looks bad on my business and can impact me badly ,i don’t expect to be employed if I can’t do my job properly . Same applies to iwobi ,he’s bad at his job so he should be sacked .
Iwobi is not a defender so is not ever likely to make mistakes for goals CONCEDED.However.Its his inept displays as an attacker that prevents us from actually SCORING GOALS.So your comparison PAL is ridiculous and you know it.If that’s the best you can come up with to defend this player then you are really out of your depth.You cannot defend his woeful finishing.His complete lack of vision.And his errant distribution.
This player was used by Emery as a workhorse and nothing else.He tries hard and that’s it.And YOU feel he is a worth to Arsenal Football Club?I don’t.And neither do most who sets their heights higher than this worthless individual who has failed miserably to take the many opportunities that were given to him last season.He will not have the same opportunities this season that’s for sure.
Admin
How come there’s no reply option for phil s message?…hmm
Anyways Phil like I said you simply hate him qed.
You said Emery uses him as a work horse and he tries his best..he can’t give what he doesn’t have..
Am not Soo pro iwobi and think he’s the best.. but be rational.. Sanchez as an arsenal winger was arguably one of the best EPL players at that time…then a young academy boy is FORCED to occupy such a mighty void and is expected to deliver in one season? Common man,am sure your various managers at work never pushed you that hard..ridirect your anger to Kroenke and co who refused to fill the void left by Sanchez..don’t give a bad dog a bad name so you can conveniently hang him..all am saying is cut the boy some slack..
A fellow man like you is worthless… perhaps your the one that needs the slack Phil…a man in his twenties makes 60k a week…and he’s worthless. Help your self man
To those of you who consider Iwobi “not good enough”how many others in our first team squad fall into this category.The answer is , most of them .To continually slag off Iwobi and to a lesser extent, Ozil,when they are surrounded by teammates who are worse in most respects is to me , a Scotsman by the way, unfair in the extreme.No the reason for our decline rests primarily in our lack of decent defenders aided by the likes of Xhaka who has no idea how to defend and has been directly responsible for our conceding numerous goals this season.Apart from Holding and Bellerin and Leno our defenders are individually and collectively are amongst the poorest in the Premier League.I have no qualms concerning the criticism aimed at Ozil which is justified, but the continuous range against Iwobi is to me a step too far.
But again it’s opinions you say I have no qualms about ozil but iwobi is a step to far …
That is your opinion and yours to make ,I have one on iwobi and it differs from yours ..
I would love to know what you find special in iwobi that probably 80 % non Nigerians don’t see
My point is the likes of Monreal, Kocielney and Kolasinac are not subjected to the tirades of abuse which is thrown at Iwobi on a regular basis.Our main problem area is the poor quality of our defenders not the weaknesses of a young man who is being used as a left winger when he clearly is a ball carrying midfielder.Iwobi is not a special player but he has boundless energy and covers more ground with the ball than any other player.By doing this he gives his teammates time and space commodities which are vital to a team.Ozil on his day was a wonderful footballer but sadly no longer is.Like Sanchez they have gone from being prime assets to give cash eating liabilities.
Grandad, I’d give you a standing ovation for your unbiased response to Phil and Xxnofx who are not very objective in their clear ‘dislike’ for an Arsenal player and who should be encouraged to improve and fulfill his potential.
There really should be no comparison between Iwobi and Oezil as they are not the same type of players, neither do they play in the same positions. Oezil’s style is languid and unforced but even he would admit that he hasn’t been at his best in the past two seasons and has not given his all in the few matches he played last season. He may have been suffering from a mental block akin to what writers experience and call ‘writer’s block’ as he had to come to terms with negativity at home in Germany and in London from his own fans as well as not getting the required support from his manager who is not the type of manager that puts a hand on his player’s shoulders and encourages them like Wenger used to do. Oezil has reached the peak of his career and his class and ability is undeniable. What is debatable is if he can motivate himself to play a different way to how he has been allowed to play in order to fit into Emery’s system.
Iwobi on the other hand, was a great prospect in the youth team, and consequently fast-tracked into the first team where he has struggled to perform consistently. However, his talent and skill is there for all to see. He can only get better with proper guidance and direction. @350oz, rightfully highlighted the similarity between Wilfred Zaha’s progression to Iwobi’s. Iwobi is caught between highlighting his strong attributes and playing to instruction on the wings. He would be better served concentrating on his finishing and overall end product which leaves a lot to be desired. He ticks all the boxes for a promising squad player however as he cannot be knocked for effort.
Its my considered view that Phil and Xxnofx ‘dislike’ (tempted to use ‘hatred’) for Iwobi stems from their lack of superior argument with which to defend Oezil’s poor performances that they vilify another player to take the attention off the star man. Phil went as far as comparing him to a piss-poor Jerkinson who we haven’t been able to find a buyer for. Ries Nelson on the other hand looks a good prospect but as yet is not ready to be a first team player but should be part of the squad.
Once again you are using words that both myself and Dan did not use.You are also intimating that I myself feel being a workhorse is enough.Its not.So for the sake of absolute clarity let me spell this out very loud and clear for you
In MY OPINION
Alex iwobi will never be a good enough footballer to play for Arsenal
He cannot shoot properly
He cannot pass the ball
He cannot cross a ball
He runs around flapping those arms like a headless chicken
He delivers no end product
He has zero football intelligence
He was wrongly given far too many opportunities by AW and UE to prove his worth to the team when it was blindingly obvious that the player was utterly useless
He continues to prove myself right in all aspects of his abilities-which is HE HAS NONE
A totally useless footballer who I’m sure is only rated on here by Africans and others who have more tolerance than I myself do.In which case I ask them-IS ALEX IWOBI TEALLY THE CLASS LEVEL OF FOOTBALLER YOU WANT AT ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB?DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE HE IS GOOD ENOUGH?
Anyone who answers yes to those questions simply have the following
No idea on football
No eyesite
No desire to ever see Arsenal progress
This is an utterly crap footballer we are discussing here and I am just waiting for Reiss Nelso to turn up and show all these Iwobi lovers just what the fuss is about.Then let’s see if they are still watching Iwobi at Brentford the following season-And that’s at best
That same question can be directed conveniently to all our players except our 2 CFW.. So don’t think you make any sense by directing that to iwobi alone