Walcott Return Would Boost Ozil

One player that has come under massive stick this year has been German play-maker Mesut Ozil, and on the face of it it’s probably deserved. He has shone in brief moments in low pressure games but in the big games he has gone missing, and against Chelsea he looked confused and out of place. But for me there’s a simple answer to that one. He is.

Ozil has shown moments of brilliance, but not enough given the quality of player he is

Mesut Ozil is one of most technically gifted players in the world, but he is not physically gifted at a player. He’s not too fast, strong or tall and to look at him you wouldn’t think he was a professional athlete. So, Mr Wenger,why on earth are we sticking him out on the wing??

At the moment it’s simply because Wenger believes there isn’t another option, especially against another big team. Ozil on the righ, Sanchez on the left and Welbeck up front with 3 central midfielders sitting behind. If Ozil was a winger then it would make sense to play like this, but he’s not. Ozil dips inside almost constantly and offers no natural width to the game which means it’s almost impossible to isolate defenders and have our attacking players have a go at them. Take a look at this.

[bbc.com]

This is what Chelsea had to defend against on Sunday. Are we really surprised that we didn’t score? All they had to do was pack the middle of the park defensively and get the break. Ozil is not a hard working player defensively and for me he can’t be played on the wing.

When Walcott returns, that has to change.

I know that Wenger worries about being attacking when we play big teams but there isn’t another way we can play right now, we don’t have the defensive players do absorb and break like Chelsea did at the weekend. For me the Arsenal formation has to be a 4-2-3-1, Welbeck/Giroud up top and an attacking midfield 3 of Walcott – Ozil – Sanchez. This does mean that Wilshere is left to move further back but I think he can flourish here, and if allows the best out of Arsenal then so be it.

Defensively I think you have to ignore Ozil, because he just isn’t the kind of person who will contribute effectively. The main issue playing like this will bring is how will Aaron Ramsey fit back in when he returns from injury? Right now though that isn’t the issue. Knowing Arsenal’s injury count it’ll be Wilshere or Ozil out next so there’s just no point in worrying about it all, just play the best team that you can.

Live Feed

Hotspur HQ

Jun 26, 2014; Recife, BRAZIL; USA midfielder Graham Zusi (19) defends against Germany midfielder Mesut Ozul (8) during the 2014 World Cup at Arena Pernambuco. Germany defeated USA 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

If Wenger is afraid to bench somebody then that’s an entirely separate issue, but if I see Ozil out on the wing again in a V formation midfield I might cry, because its £40m pound being wasted. Oxlade-Chamberlain would be much better off out there because he will run the wing and create opportunities by working hard.

Having to chose between Ramsey and Ozil for who to play as your number 10 is possibly the best problem we could have right now. Ozil being stuck on the wing is not a solution. I’d rather see him on the bench than looking lost out there again. What do you think?

Follow Pain in the Arsenal on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter