When Arsenal were scoring 4 goals last weekend some fans and pundits used it as evidence that we don’t need Ozil. If you are being objective, you can’t criticise someone when we are winning without him, and then not call a spade a spade when it’s clear his creativity was missed on Saturday.
When I saw the midfield that was starting against Huddersfield, my reaction was we would get away with it against lesser opposition, but I wouldn’t want 3 defensive midfielders starting most weeks at home. We just about got over the line but surely the German in midfield would have improved our chances of converting possession into chances.
Many gooners support the idea of Ozil joining Ramsey in leaving the club. A stick to beat both with often is the supposed wages they demand. What salary though do you think we took on when swapping Myhkitaryan with Sanchez? Is the Armenian really any less guilty of the weaknesses we label at Ozil? It been mentioned about Iwobi’s improvement. It was hard for the Nigerian not to get better than the previous 2 years, his statistics are shocking for an attacking winger.
Ask yourself this….
0-0 with 10 minutes to go in a Cup Final, who do you trust more to provide the killer final ball or grab a goal, Ozil and Ramsey or Myhkitaryan and Iwobi?
One has the most assists since we brought him, the other scored the winner in 2 out of the 3 FA Cup he’s won. The other two haven’t come close to doing better than that. Given who our owner is, does he have the ambition to replace either with the best possible talent or will he simply try to find value, banking the money he is taking off the wage bill? In other words, with Ozil and Rambo injured we are getting a glimpse into the future that many think will make us stronger?
So, has today made some think twice about taking Ramsey and Ozil for granted?
Dan Smith
Ask yourself this admin if you are under the cosh who would you want ozil or iwobi
Ozil. He makes quick decisions and doesn’t run down blind alleys.
As I said yesterday, Iwobi has the first touch of a trampoline!
Don’t come back with hater stuff either as I really like Iwobi but he just needs do the simple things and not try to be the dribbling star all the time. He made a fantastic through pass yesterday and should concentrate on that rather than step overs.
Can’t remember EVER seeing Iwobi actually dribble past an opponent. EVER! So all those comments which maintain he’s our best dribbler are complete hogwash. Flapping your arms about and doing a few stepovers do not a dribbler make!
Yes Dec. It’s funny how I commented to my wife that passing to Iwobi was like passing to a brick wall at the same time you were making a similar observation. However I prefer your ‘trampoline’ expression 🙂
Maybe his nickname should be ‘Bouncer’ given the number of times the ball bounces off him. Thick as a brick!
Ozil
Iwobi is the definition of losing his bottle when things are gping bad
I miss Mesut…. having to rely on Iwobi & Mkhi to make something happen… be waiting till hell freezes over at this rate!
I was really impressed with Ramsey against the spuds
Fully agree.
I would never play 2 from Xhaka-Gundouzi-Elneny at the same time. Their trait is basically the same (transitioning from defense to attack, distributing the ball), and while Granit and Matteo have the eyes for the occasional ‘killer ball’ they are not substitutes for the genuine creativity Özil (and Sanchez!) represents (represented).
It doesn’t really matter who the othe 8 players are, the 3 central midfielder should be Torreira, a ‘passing machine’ from the 3 guys above (my first choice is Xhaka), and an ‘assist king’ as #10 (my preference is still Özil).
With such line-up we made Premiere League history. With Guendouzi starting, we struggled even against inferior PL opponents. And I love the guy; but he cannot replace Torreira (see our first 2 – and only – losses of the season), and he neither complements nor substitutes Xhaka when played together (see our home game against Huddersfield yesterday).
Disagree. Ozil usually turns up in a home game against poorer team, but that’s because he has been playing as no 10 for years. Give the other no 10s the same number of chances to play behind the striker(s), then we can compare their effectiveness
Ramsey was not good as a no 10, but good as a false nine (a decoy centre forward in a side deliberately set up without a dedicated striker, check the difference between that and no 10:
howtowatchfootball.co.uk/Post/Display/49?t=a-false-9-a-number-10-or-a-912-what-now-for-the-front-six-specialists)
Whereas Mkhitaryan and Iwobi have never got the chance to play as no 10 in this season. I think Arsenal should gradually leave the no 10 concept, because the other big teams have been dominating with 4-3-3 (Man City, Chelsea, Bayern, Madrid, Barcelona, etc)
I don’t Know what rife Ozil has gotten into with Emery but shutting him out to prove your managerial point isn’t helping the TEAM.
against huddersfield ozil would be fine.
Now we are short of players.
Sorry, Ozil needs to go…his attitude seems to be questioned everywhere he plays..German team, Real Madrid. Its a shame because he has amazing skill.
I would be happy if Ramsey stayed.
Ozil’s and iwobi’s(if well developed) abilities are useful everytime. I don’t know what mkhitaryan’s abilities are and Ramsey’s run ins behind defences are only useful once in awhile
With ozil and iwobi on form, u won’t need someone with mkhitaryan and Ramsey’s abilities
Like yesterday, with kolasinac and bellerin’s runs, they needed someone with Ozil’s passing abilities to get them the ball in those wide areas
Ramsey is a good box to box not number 10
A box to box player should be able to defend. Ramsey’s defensive skills should come with a public health warning. No good as a no. 10 either. So just stick to no. 8 – can occasionally score with his late runs into the box and probably his best position.
I FULLY agree with Dan. True Arsenal supporters should not change their attitudes on players like the way wind changes directions. Ozil used to be brilliant and still do sometimes. He IS recognized by many as true top class. Rambo though did well in last 2 matches but he was poor from start of the season. Iwobi started the season like a “new ” player but did badly in the last 2 matches and made quite a few mistakes, making wrong decisions and a little selfish. Xhaka though made a couple of mistakes but we should recognize that he has been a truly dependable player this season. So players should not be slammed for poor performance at times and demanded to be sold! Before the start of PML we worried whether Unai could get used to PML and do well. Now, we should all trust him, TRUST EMERY!
?well said, Len.
I trust Emery but I do not think he should replace Larca and 12 with Mhkit and Iwobi. To me the subs both did not so well against Huddersfield. No 9 was posing much danger to Huddersfield.
Len, in defense of Emery regarding the substitution of Lacazette, I think he was concerned about Lacazette’s previous groin strain and was being cautious given the games to come.
Yes and No
We needed a creative spark yesterday definitely
I predicted this before the match and that it would be a low scoring match too
Maybe Ozil would have played well yesterday because we were not playing a top team. Once in a while he plays BRILLIANTLY. But not consistently enough. He is also lazy defensively
But beyond this season Ozil, Ramsey, Mikhitaryan, Iwobi are not the answers for central attacking midfielders.
We will not come close to challenging without a consistent top quality CAM
Ericksen, Fabregas, Mata, De Bruyne, Silva, Wijnaldum are all better
Why tha f**k will you compare Ozil to someone like Eriksen,wijnadum, mata?? We played against Shitty Spurs and I don’t remember Eriksen playing that game.. We would have been bashing Ozil if he was the one that was off game that day.
Similarly how the team moves away from the dependency of Alex Sanchez to win us games (no longer here), similarly the team will be less reliant on Ozil providing the assists, base on the system and personnel being used.
My problem with Ozil has been if you are the highest earner at a team that means you are the “MAN” (meaning the best player there), you have to show that through 38 matches of a season or the majority of matches you play, so ADMIN can you honestly say over the past seasons Ozil has been the “MAN” for arsenal.
Ramsey has contributed far more to Arsenal than Ozil ever had and it is unfortunate his dealing with the club has not gone in a favourable direction for him, so it is therefore understandable that the club is using him as minimal as possible.
Iwobi and Mik may not have mastered that final pass, but provides the coach with the energy needed across the middle and final third, with many others on the field that can deliver the final pass.
WTF are u smoking? ozil is inconsistent and Ramsey is hard worker but not creative
Exactly, during the time they have both been at the club together, Ozil has performed better and has been more consistant and reliable than Ramsey. The mistake Arsenal made was to give Ozil such an inflated contract; however that must be considered in the context of the situation of the club at the time (Sanchez, Wenger etc).
Can’t agree. Both are very inconsistent and it’s just as likely they could’ve had stinkers. Arsenal need productive wingers, and a more consistent attacking mid that is not Ramsey or Ozil. Because the plain truth is both are not good enough if we are trying to move forward and compete with the best teams in EPL. On their day they can be amazing but it doesn’t happen often enough for either of them. Ramsey actually has been pretty useful this season though. He has 6 assists in EPL already this season, compared to “king of assists” one.
“Given who our owner is, does he have the ambition to replace either with the best possible talent or will he simply try to find value, banking the money he is taking off the wage bill?”
Yeah, cause, well…
We all know Silent Stan is the one who scouted Torreira. We all know Silent Stan is the one who ignored Wengers cry for a CB and pushed to get Auba instead. It was Silent Stan who…
Ooooh….
No it wasn’t.
I guess Silent Stan really means nothing when it comes to the day to day running of Arsenal, Arsenal have people employed to do those roles for Silent Stan. Maybe Dan should think about that before typing another article.
It is frustrating seeing people mindlessly point at Silent Stan for issues, we had issues with Gazidis but to fans it was either Wenger or Silent Stan, people are refusing to acknowledge what a board is and does.
People who blamed Wenger for every issue at Arsenal. Now people are blaming Silent Stan.
WHO THE HELL IS BLAMING GAZIDIS FOR WASTING OUR FUNDS FOR CLOSE TO A DECADE???? (Yes that was me shouting lol)
Gazidis was going to sanction Rambos big pay rise which would be eating away at Arsenal funds, like Ozil wage was sanctioned by Gazidis and he earns a player value each season. We do not have funds to throw around and people are blaming Silent Stan when the real issue was the waste that Gazidis done and we have to pay it off now as a club.
But back to what I quoted.
I feel Sven will do his best, I do hope Sven can find a gem for a little fee as those signings make me feel good 🙂 I am proud of Torreira and knowing he cost so little is putting a smile on my face as I think about it.
I do not care if we spend little on an Ozil or Rambo rep, I would be happy for a Rambo replacement to come from our youth, maybe ESR? I am a gooner, I am supporting Arsenal and not the bank account.
Only issue with your post. “What a board is and does.”
The board does whatever the 97% owner tells them to do. If you doubt me, see what happens when “the board” and owner are at odds.
Remember that idiot Sir Chips saying they agreed with whatever Wenger did, followed him when he had a plan AND when he didn’t? Board is a joke, a front, and a farce.
Stan and his 97% runs things, make no mistake
Durand, take your assesment back even further when Kronkie owed 67% of the share…it was still him calling the shots via Gazidis.
Gazidis was his CEO and sanctioned the salaries/contracts etc, especially in the last two years (so we have been led to believe).
It’s funny how these “bleeding hearts” blaming Kronkie now, didn’t get it previously, along with the role Gazidis had in AW’s terrible last two seasons?.
At the game yesterday, there was a distinct lack of creativity going forward and, to date, no other player has the craft of Ozil to create chances for Lacs and Aba.
Guez is for the future, but no match for the experience that Ramsey brings to the team.
Both Ramsey and Ozil were missed, as was Holding.
Unai is having the same problems as AW did with injuries piling up and, lest we forget, has already lost two of his 25 man squad for the rest of the season.
It’s so easy to say let’s sell this player or that player and get so and so as replacements, but we have to address this problem first surely?
That involves money and Kronkie controls it…end of!!
It just needs City, Pool or Chelsea to take an interest, up the salaries and we lose out yet again because of Kronkie’s decisions.
We cannot possibly think of selling players like Ozil and Ramsey until we have players of proven and equal ability as replacements signed, sealed and delivered and THAT is the problem for the club under Kronkie.
Would he gamble buying a w/c player and not know what price he would get for Ozil, especially as it seems he is going to lose Ramsey for nothing?
As much as I dislike the mans attitude to Arsenal, I actually understand why he would think twice if he is losing a player for nothing who’s value in sterling terms must be £20 – £40 million…take your pick.
That’s another reason I can’t see Ozil leaving, as unlike Ramsey, until his contract is completed.
Good point Ken. Kronke hates spending money like cats hate water. That’s why he brought Sven to club. Now he can let Sven find diamonds or get value players for pennies.
Odd how he could shell out $500 million for a ranch to add to his collection, but we were stuck with Giroud, no DM, and having a CB crisis because “no quality was available” anywhere in the world.
People say he’s spending money, but didn’t make profit from sales recently? Look at net transfer cost; both incoming and outgoing over last several years.
With new kit deal, tv revenue, we have plenty of money. Hell the kit deal is what £50 million a year? Lets see what transfer budget is from our cheapskate in chief.
Ken it is BOTH Gazidis and Kroenke who are to blame, along of course with Wenger for lack of club ambition. A less corporate minded manager and one who , instead, had the courage to not put up with the stinginess and neglect of both K and G would have confronted them, using the long years of great success he had back when Kroenke first took his 66 % as a bargaining tool. The fans, AT THAT TIME, ME INCLUDED, would have backed him. But he chose to put his own contract and desperation to remain manager at all costs to the clubs future before his clear duty. This is, in major part, why I so resent his later years even. now. The whole regime stunk of wilful neglect and dereliction of clear duty for all those wasted years. Mercifully, we have moved on and two of the three who were harming have moved away. We STILL HAVE THE MAJOR ENEMY OF ALL, KROENKE to shift before we can seriously hope to challenge for the actual title. I just do not envisage a thwarted of funds Emery hanging around as Wenger did. HE IS CLEARLY A COURAGEOUS AND DETERMINED MAN AND IF ARSENAL REFUSE TO BACK HIS AMBITION HE WILL MOVE TO WHERE HE IS PROPERLY FINANCIALLY BACKED. I am as certain of this as I can ever be. He is now 47, Wenger is 69 and ambitions are vastly different at those diverse ages, whoever one is speaking about. Just the way it is. It shows the great perils of having key decision makers in their late sixties and above(as the board mostly is). Without drive and hunger you may as well be professionally dead. This is precisely why I so loathed Walcott. Ozil and Mhki, both idle, are going down that same useless route, to their eternal shame. David Dein was a shining exception to this age equals less ambition rule and how I wish he both owned and ran the club.
Durand, I think only you midkemma and I have repeatedly asked fans to check the facts about money spent versus money coming in.
How anyone can say Kronkie is supporting the club because we signed Lacs and Aba and breaking our transfer records as proof of his ploughing money into the club is beyond me.
These two players cost the club less than £20,000,000!!!!
I have repeatedly asked and queried where the monies the club earnt by ten years of CL qualification, top four finishes and fa cup successes has gone, since the Emirates was paid for.
That is on top of the other sponsorship deals, including the re-naming of the “Emirates”.
As you say, the new deals along with the missing billions (a shrewd estimate from me only) should give us the power to compete with the very best on a single player at least!!
But the real truth, bitter a pill as it is to swallow, is it’s Kronkies club financially speaking, his money to spend as he wishes and sees fit.
He’s heavily invested in Ozil, so why would he choose to lose money on this player, when he’s losing a fortune on Ramsey, who he has to replace? And at what cost to replace?
This on top of the “wishlist” of wingers, No 10’s, DM’s, CB’s all having to be world class of course!!
All I can say is thank goodness for the crop of, what looks like, brilliant young players signed by AW and being coached by UE.
Jon, your wish that AW would have led his life as a saint and did not make any mistakes during his twenty two years as Arsenal manager is loyal, commendable, understandable but completely dillusional and unreasonable.
There is, reportedly, only one individual who walked this earth and achieved this level of distinction, before being crucified as you seem to want to do with our ex-manager.
A comparision of these two icons might be that one fed the 5,000 on one occasion and performed numerous miracles and was worshipped by his followers, while the other fed the millions of gooners around the world with 20 years of success at the top table of football, including a team that will be eternally remembered as “The Invincibles” amongst his many miracles by his followers who I hasten to add ,DID actually recognise he had his faults as well ( being only human after all ).
I want to move the discussion forward, as I have tried to many times with you, but it seems that no matter what the debate is about i.e. “HOW MUCH ARSENAL NEED OZIL AND/OR RAMSEY” you keep going back in time to continue attacking three people, two of whom have left!!
Now the fact is Jon, Unai accepted the post, recognised the wealth of players left to him and knew that he could turn the club around by using those players PLUS a few new signings….and guess what he has been proved right.
He has stated he has no need to sell and/or get rid of the “weedy, clueless, dross” that was left him, but instead has installed his ideas of playing football.
I am actually thrilled with the team, supporters and results so far
and am thoroughly living the dream of the 2018-19 season.
I have no need to keep looking backwards and blaming people for whatever happened then.
I might just as well blame Bertie Mee for breaking up his double winning team to early, or Bracewell Smith for selling her shares to Kronkie, or GG for taking bungs, or Chapman for catching flu and dying on us, but what would the point?
That is realism Jon, something that you accuse others on here of not having, along with the experience that, you say, age brings one.
Experience shows that history cannot be changed so let’s get on with the present and Unai Emery.
Ken Despite your well expressed opinion – as ever – I AM realistic in saying that the squad we have here now is still mostly Wengers men. You put words in my mouth though that i HAVE NEVER USED. I have never expected any manager , Wenger, Fergie, Emery too, not to make mistakes. And nor to live like saints, whatever that means, either. ALL managers do make mistakes, as do ALL humans. As a realist I fully recognise that and have even posted on this general subject on here, more than once too. So I refute what you accuse me of saying about Wenger. My regular criticisms of him have been explicit as to what I did not like as you well know. Much of it concerns his wilful neglect of the vital need for a proper, strong and above all, well coached defence. You know that is what I have said and that it is true as well as I do. It took the new regime no time at all to bring in a world class DM, which WENGER CHOSE TO NEGLECT SINCE GILBERTO LEFT, MANY YEARS AGO. Though possibly you think I am bringing up Wenger for reasons you cannot fathom, I do it BECAUSE his players , mostly, are still here and that affects our team today and will until all are Emerys men, sometime in the future.
But therein lies the irony Jon, Unai disagrees with you!!
You still insist that all the players inherited by Unai must go, despite the man himself acknowledging their strengths and building this impressive run alongside the five new players.
Can I confirm Jon, that you are actually saying that the great new youngsters signed, MAKE NO MISTAKE, and by your own admission during Arsene Wenger’s watch, have to go in order for Unai Emery to succeed as well as every current first team player?
REALLY?
it is an insanity not to acknowledge any one player cannot help Emery succeed JUST because he was signed by the previous manager and yet you keep repeating this absurd view while watching the team perform so well.
Of course Unai has been brilliant, both in team selection, coaching and tactics, ALL THE THINGS ARSENE GOT WRONG during his final two years.
Emery has been doing this mainly with the “dross” players you condemned out of hand just six months ago and, quite staggeringly, still do!!
Please tell me something explicite you do approve of Wenger doing during those last ten years Jon, it has never appeared in print to my knowledge.
midkemma, I f you scroll down to my comment below you will notice I said where the real problem lies. THAT refers to the here and now though, since both Wenger and GAZIDIS – AS YOU SAY- were massively to blame but are now gone(Thank God!!!) It is now and the future that matters and we need Kroenke to release substantial funds BUT he does not. That is the REAL problem. We can no longer blame Gazidis or WENGER FOR WASTING FUNDS – THE IMPORTS HAVE BEEN GOOD CHOICES SINCE EMERY ARRIVED – BUT WE NEED FAR MORE AND BETTER QUALITY THAN WHAT REMAINS BEHIND FROM THE WENGER/ GAZIDIS WASTED YEARS.
You named 2 good signings
Mr koronke has been at the club over a decade
Never in his transfer policy has he shown ambition , why we are 5th
As good as you feel our recruitment team is they still have to work with budget set by their boss
So when Ramsey goes,they might have 30 million to replace him with
While they may find value, are you going to beat man city with that model?
Again we are 5th, so slow down on Sven has rescued us
Dan, I like to follow debates / articles / views, so can you tell me who’s post you are referring to regards Sven?
Agree with your comment regarding slowing down, bu tsince Sven has arrived we have sharpened up in our transfer dealings and I would suggest that every signing has contributed to the teams solid performances under Unai.
Along with the statement that every player will be offered a new contract two years before their current one expires. If they decline, they go on the transfer list.
No more Sanchez, Ramsey, Ozil or judas RVP sagas to worry about and all positive steps forward by the new regime in my opinion.
Dan Smith, with or without Ozil and Ramsey Arsenal will do well and continue to do well till season’s end winning laurels for Arsenal. Ozil and Ramsey are top quality Gunners playing top quality football for Arsenal on their good days in games for Arsenal. It’s all about seizing one’s opportunity when seeing it fly by. And I think both Ozil and Ramsey will get opportunities to play for Arsenal when they come back from the sidelines. It will be left for them to put to bed their critics criticisms criticizing them of low key or average performances in games for Arsenal by answering them with defining top quality performances influencing victories for Arsenal in the PL and in the League Cup over Southampton, Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton and Liverpool. 5 key games before the end of the years to give Arsenal 7 winning run in all competitions knowing in the back of our minds that Arsenal will beat Qarabag FK at the Ems on Thursday night in the Europa.
Rather like the Brexit choice it is a false one you propose Dan. The REAL problem is none of the players mentioned – or rather all of them but they are the sideshow. The REAL problem is that we have an owner who cares nothing for honours, only personal wealth and so will not allow proper funds to buy players in central creative forward positions who are of top and consistent quality; who work hard all the time; who play for the team rather than themselves and who don’t constantly get mysterious injuries a day or so before any game they don’t fancy. Any honest with themselves Gooner can easily associate the above comments with the relevant player. The truth is that all, bar IWOBI, only as he is still young and still capable of necessary improvement, should be sold or moved on. But FIRST we need proper replacements, which brings us back to the real problem: KROENKE!
We created enough chances yesterday we just didn’t take them
?
What a stupid article!
Arsenal should sell ozil for 25M to Inter if there is any truth in that rumor. With Wellbeck, Ramsey and Ozil gone we will have about 550K in our budget to play with. Add to that the possibility of Cech, Monreal, Koscielny and Elneny leaving we will have about a 1M a week in our wage budget.
We will have plenty of potential targets that Sven is putting together. I am all for a complete clean out of Wenger players that havent performed.
Leno,Bellerin,Sokratis,Mustafi,Mavros,Holding,Sead,Xhaka,Torreira,Guendouzi,AMN,Nelson,ESR,Nketiah,Laca,Auba is the basis of our team going forward. Maybe Iwobi will come good as well.
Yes agree will be a step forward if we get rid of Ramsey and Ozil in january, the really ozil is the one who used to play for Bremen but right now he is just another big name. And if Emery is the one who put breaks on ramsey contract i give him big up! he might have a plan for a good player coming in january ie Banega, Denis Suarez my feelings tell me we are getting one for sure denis and may be both. Emery did very good job while at sevilla for getting very good unknown players with higher quality something wenger couldnt do for past ten years and keep talk who walcott was improving as a player and since i saw that i new already he was out of ideas.
JimBeam,
also arsenal does not need to break a bank to bring in players, few good example Manu paid 50mln for Fred and is not even playing! apart from that, the money they spend on Pogba and Lukaku is just not the way to go same as chelsea with their new Gk and liverpool with Van Dijk.
With Sven and Emily we should be able to get bargain in a range of 15mln to 20mnl for each player we bring in ie Wesley, denis suarez,banega, Benatia, Hormoso, Fornals, Tragliafico, nadiem Amiri. etc spain, germany, france have a lot of good players who are available for dissent price.
For the money Manu spent on Pogba, Fred and Lukaku, its unacceptable to have those players sit out on big match vs arsenal that tells you there is something wrong on maurihno head and he needs to get a sack!!!
What a brilliant article. Without ramsey and ozil we lack creativity. And for all those people criticizing ramsey and ozil, i would like to see another midfielder at arsenal come close to his 59 goals and 54 assists. Xhaka has like 4 goals in 2 seasons and maitland niles has never scored a goal!
Totally agree. Also highest scoring German player ever in the Premier league. He broke Klinsmans record. Can’t believe the hate this guy gets. Ramsey also trying hard and seems to be focusing more on the basics and keeping it simple.
?
Please when you are comparing, use players in the same position, Xhaka and Ozil may be described as midfielders but occupies different parts of the field
an ozil and xhaka comparison… oh my. the things pepople spout to make Ozil look half decent
Emery may have his reasons to sit Ozil but a prolonged dispute and persistence to keep Oil out will bite us in the ass. Many games to go and plenty of teams will sit back and absorb the pressure.
Without Oil pulling the strings chances will be harder to come by. Lacazzete and Auba are better strikers with Ozil in the mix. The stupidity of some fans thinking that Iwobi or Mikh can duplicate
Oil’s futball brain is ludicrous.
Work your difference out and either trade him or find a way to make him want to play for you as a manager. Look at Pep. He may sit Mane for a couple games but he is not keeping a talent like him out to prove a stupid point.
I think, we are really jumping the gun in assuming Ozil is being sat down to prove a point. Possibly divisive at this point. the last thing we need. We don’t really know whats happening behind the scenes. it is best to wait for when he returns and plays so we can review his performances. Wouldn’t it ironic if Ozil returned and started playing better and most consistent only for us to turn around praising how great Emery is for finding a way to get the best out of Ozil finally?
?if Ozil’s injury is true (and there is no evidence to the contrary), back pain (“spasms”) is debilitating for anyone, let alone a professional footballer.
He doesnt want to risk him and sell this coming january to intermilan or Juve and welbeck was gonna go this january if he was not injured.
How can anyone with real knowledge of association football include the likes of Mustafi and Kolasinac as part of the foundation of a successful future Arsenal team? They and a number of others quoted are simply not good enough for a team with aspirations to win the Premier League.I,m fairly certain Emery will take a different ,more realistic view of the calibre of player to be recruited to take Arsenal to the next level.
Agree that we lack creativity without Ramsey and Ôzil. But with them we lack defensive organization and work.
So it is a dilemma.
What we really need is one or two creative players, that also work hard.
I think whatever challenges we faced against Huddersfield and even Wolves had little or nothing to do with Ozil and Rambo or their absence. Having watched Arsenal this season, I think we seem to do better against football playing teams. We played relatively well against Chelsea, and played our best games against Spurs, Liverpool and Fulham. These are teams that were brave enough to play football against us. It gave us the opportunity to utilize our pressing game, consistently turning over our opponents. It is against the likes of Wolves, Bournemouth, Man Utd, Huddersfield etc that we have struggled. That because these are teams that packed the bus against us expecting us to break them down. I think our struggles are similar to what Klopp faced during his early Liverpool days, struggling to breakdown strictly defensive opponents. However, I do not think that Rambo and Ozil automatically solves those problems as they do not meet Emery’s standards and his standard has to stand for something. I believe that after a couple of transfer windows, if adequate funds are released, we will become a force in the premier league especially by the time the Emery has fully blooded his DNA on the team
Naija, does anybody think that Ozil and Ramsey automatically solve any problems.
What I believe, after being at the match yesterday, is that Ozil would have increased the teams ability to break down Huddersfied’s defensive approach to the game AND Ramsey would have added more steel to the teams ability to deal with Huddersfield’s physical approach to our players.
Unai”s DNA is surely already there for everyone to see?
What more are you wanting to see that his team is not already showing?
The adequate funds you are hoping for? are you exxpecting Kronkie to change his spots from years of owning sports clubs?
Your pointabout the different clubs we have faced is a really good point, but doesn’t that also apply to previous seasons when we were chided about playing the likes of Stoke etc ona cold winters day?
Ken, I quite agree with you but in the past, we usually blew away teams such as Huddersfield and even Wolves at home. It was the likes of Liverpool, Spurs and every other big 6 team that were our major problems at home. While we have figured out how to play the big 6 at home, we simply struggle to breakdown teams which park the Bus against us. While that may be partly due to creativity, I still believe that Ozil is not the one to solve that conundrum. Unai likes hard working players and Ozil is just not that player. We have even struggled while he was in the team. That is why I believe that we need a couple of windows, no matter how small the funds provided, the Manager has to get creative players that fit into his system. And while his DNA is already there for all to see, you will agree with me that Arsenal is not the finished article yet. They still need a little more time to properly adapt to the new system and play along the same wavelength.
Naija Gunner, all very good responses my fellow gooner.
It is why the teams like Wolves/Huddersfield bother us so much that we have to have a proven player who can open up those defences.
Like him or hate him, we have all seen the wonderful passes that only Ozil can make during tight games such as the two already mentioned.
Is he an Unai type player? Only the man himself knows that, so time will tell.
As for his DNA, if Emery left tomorrow, he would be remembered for the style of play and the intensity he brought to the club.
I have no doubt he has not finished yet, but the question is, will he get the backing he needs to complete the job?
Naija Gunner , I don’t believe that you and I have ever directly commented on each others post before now, but after reading your thoroughly sensible and correct post, i will look for your posts with interest from now on. WELL SAID ON THE OZIL SITUATION. I feel that some on here, notably Phil, Ken, Sue and certain highly other respected fans too are just fooling themselves about OZIL. He is gifted beond almost all players but spoils it all by not working enough. Laziness can NEVER be acceptable.
auba and Lacazette both had easy chances 1st half. Creating was not our issue last game, it was finishing. And there is a third option, ditch both ramsey and Ozil and buy somebody else. ozil is so irrelevant now and I cant believe gooners still rate him highly.
3 DM? nope…what was the role of Gundouzi?…….
I think Emery has raised our expectation levels so high, I see all kinds of opinions questioning his decisions its shocking. All the flip flopping criticism over a few player bad player performaces might not be called for at this moment. Mhki , i thought he had a decent game especially compared to his previous terrible games. Iwobi has had a few not so good games but we also need to remember they are still learning despite their flashes of brilliance. Lets Get behind the team. And about Laca, is it just me who thinks perhaps the manager knew exactly what he was doing for yanking him off ? He skewed that shot way off and if you have ever paid close attention to his performances, usually whenever he does that in a game, he carries on being out of sycn the entire game despite his work rate. I think Unai knows this very well and that he was not in his usual frame of mind to help us salvage a goal. in addition, His goal vs spurs was labored by his own standards and did not carry as much power as it usually does most likely due to the groin recovery. Man U game he got clattered by the idiot Rojo…..so I think Unai , who is with him in training, knew exactly what he was doing especially with the tough run of games this december.
theGoon, a really sensible post regarding all the angles you covered.
My gripe regarding the Huddersfield game was not Emery, who continues to astound me with his decision making and clarity of thought.
It was the lack of any real creative chances (not saying there wasn’t any) compared to the spuds and manure games.
Like you I think Unai knows exactly what he’s doing and when he picks a team, it’s because of what he sees during the week.
I also firmly believe Ozil is/was injured because that is what the club are saying.
Not a chance in hell they would lie about this, especially when we know how hard it is to keep things secret.
Rkw and RHS, if Ozil, Xhaka and Ramsey are as bad as you say, what kind of transfer money do you expect to make on them?
Secondly, what do you expect to have to pay for a top quality defender and winger?
Thirdly, Kronkie would not invest in the areas you suggest, in my opinion, until he knows what monies are coming in for those three players.
He’s already lost in the region of £20-£40 million (take your pick) with Ramsey, so why would he gamble if he could know EXACTLY what was in the coffers?
Pretend it’s your club, your money, your on a winning streak and you’ve invested millions into Ozil and Xhaka, both of whom have signed new contracts.
Would you back his judgement over others? Of course you would.
Just as a footnote, if your views on these players are correct, who would buy them?
Without a creative midfield spark we will not make full use of lacazette and aube as was apparent yday and a bunch of previous matches too … Ramsey is not it 10 years of watching him run around pointlessly is long enough .. Ozil is world class albeit erratically so … So unless we do serious shopping in the window it’s a no brainier … Personally I think we need an attacking winger and another top quality defender as priorities so sell Ramsey and xhaka and invest where we need and if ozil wants to go in summer so be it …
I’d ditch Ozil way before Xhaka.