Is Arteta Brave Enough To Recall Ozil? By Dan Smith
Okay, I think most readers on Justarsenal have given their opinion on Ozil. This though isn’t me asking should the player be registered in January; the question is do you think Arteta will have the bravery to do so?
While I stop short at Paul Merson’s call that Arsenal apologise to the German, I have never hid my belief that him being dropped was not a footballing decision. Given what’s happened in the midfielder’s absence, our manager would struggle with a straight face to maintain that creatively we have a better option then a World Cup winner.
Our current midfield have had since June (21 League Fixtures) to prove themselves. In that time we finished in our worst Prem position in 25 years and have made our worst start in the Prem era.
My argument has never been Ozil is the answer, but do we have anyone better? Anyone who claims that Ozil shouldn’t at least be on the bench either has an agenda, is making this personal, or is scared to say they were wrong.
We are 15th and terrible to watch. We just watched a North London Derby where Spurs let us have possession and we resorted to poor crosses because we don’t have an individual who can unlock a defence.
Like Ozil’s biggest critics pointed out how we won the FA Cup without him, you can’t be selective and ignore when we are simply not making chances.
Apart from falling into the bottom three I’m not sure what more the team would have to do to show they need any creative help they can get! You can’t tell me with a straight face, if 10 minutes is left in a game and you need a goal, we have anyone else better?
That’s why I use the word bravery when pondering if Arteta does a U-turn. Because it does take bravery to admit you made a mistake, that you got something so wrong.
To be a top coach you stick to your convictions not what the outside is saying. If you’re mentored by Pep Guardiola, your taught to stick to your principles. Arteta might feel he undermines himself by performing a U turn, that it will be damaging to admit to his dressing room he’s wasted half a campaign paying someone to sit at home, yet it’s just as damaging for senior players to think that their manager can’t see an obvious issue.
Equally for the sake of his job, can he afford to be going into February still struggling for creativity?
By all accounts Ozil is popular within the squad, so his teammates will know deep down if this his inclusion is based on ability.
The problem is if our talents feel it is affecting them? Is Aubameyang (at the Lane last Sunday), Thinking every time the ball goes out wide; ‘if only Ozil was here?’
That’s the biggest issue for Arteta, once senior players start asking the obvious questions.
Especially if they are not seeing anything wrong with the player’s attitude in training.
Only so many times you can walk away bemoaning a lack of creativity, then see someone proven being paid 350,000 thousand pound to sit at home.
Don’t get me wrong, Ozil has his flaws but the difference is we know he can deliver; we don’t know that about those currently being picked.
Players are professional enough to know a player falling out with management happens. In that sense, is it worth the drama over someone who won’t be in North London this time next year?
To counter that though, isn’t the most important thing the club? Can’t all parties be mature enough to work together for a few months for the sake of the badge, then go their separate ways?
The point that many are missing is Ozil is still getting paid, he’s laughing all the way to the bank.
So for the sake of the Stan Kroenke’s pride, saving paying a few bonuses, or avoiding upsetting TV networks in China, the only losers here are the fans.
Let’s say we fail to win this Sunday. Let’s say fans queue up to write how we lack creativity, we are not good to watch, etc – in that moment do you truly care that ‘thank goodness though our Billionaire owner isn’t having to pay Ozil his bonus’? Or ‘Well we are 15th, but at least our games will be broadcasted in China.’
There’s this myth among our fanbase. If you dare suggest that Ozil might possibly be able to help out a squad in 15th, you are accused of being a ‘fan boy.’ In reality, I don’t care about Ozil. I do care about what’s best for Arsenal.
I’m aware that Ozil is getting his money, and he and his agent will have already worked out his next lucrative move. Our owner is a Billionaire who due to TV revenue no longer cares where we finish in the League. So I feel sorry for neither.
What I can do is take the emotion out of things and look at them factually.
Ozil is an employee of Arsenal Football Club. If he’s being paid to do anything else but give his best to the team I love, I want a good reason – something that his employers have failed to do.
We went along with this nonsense that it was ‘footballing reasons’ and in terms of coping without him, it couldn’t have gone worse.
If long term a striker wasn’t scoring, or a keeper was letting in too many goals, you would look at your other resources. That’s their job, right?
A strikers is paid to score goals, a keeper to keep them out.
So what’s a midfielder’s job?
To create?
How many chances should we give the current midfield to do that?
They had more than enough chances to do that and haven’t done so yet.
The irony is many (including myself) believe that the decision is being made above Arteta’s head. Therefore the Spaniard is essentially a shield for bosses who won’t think twice about sacking him for lacking the creativity that they took away from the team in the first place.
At the very least, I would like Arteta to have some gumption and demand we finally replace Ozil in January. That way we can carry on paying someone to sit at home (because that’s important to us for some reason) but the team still have creativity.
That’s the most important thing – correct, “the team.”
If the Kroenke family don’t care when Arsenal are down in 15th place, they never will.
Remember the aim by this point was to be competing with the likes of Bayern Munich.
We have failed miserably to reach that target, the furthest away from being Champions since we were Invincibles in 2004.
Last January, Man United responded to being far away from the top 4 by buying Bruno Fernandes because their team lacked creativity.
Let’s see what our owners do to help us.
If they turn round and claim they are only willing to do loan signings, then Arteta needs to recall Ozil. He needs to, but will he?
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Dan