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Arsenal: The One Big, Recurring Problem With Mesut Ozil
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal dropped three points at Goodison Park and the blame game commences. Allow the pointing to focus on Mesut Ozil and his recurring problem.
You won’t find a player out there with a better understanding of what he is and what he can do than Mesut Ozil. The Arsenal No. 10 is a fantastic passer and innovator who loves to just chill and assist. That’s hid gig.
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But if you disrupt that gig, you start to see the big, recurring problem that Ozil has always seemed to have. When he gets tired, he just isn’t the same kind of player as when he is on point. It is for that reason that I continue to advocate for some sort of understudy or apprentice who can spot Ozil from time to time.
The German had to feel it today, and by the bewildered look on his face, he did. There just wasn’t room for his type of play in this game. He isn’t strong enough to hold up play and slow things down to the pace he prefers (although Granit Xhaka accomplished that) and he isn’t fast enough to keep up with this hectic style (when tired, that is).
It’s almost a slight on Ozil to send him out there in games like this where he is clearly weary and his legs are heavy and expect him to create because it just wasn’t happening.
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From the start of the match, his passes were finding more Toffees than Gunners and it was visibly ticking the German off. He just wasn’t having it and he couldn’t figure out what was going on because he kept trying and finding similar results.
Then, when it came to putting the ball away, he was equally frustrated. His first missed shot I can forgive, as the ball was behind him, but the second miss was inexcusable for a player of his caliber.
If Ozil needs a rest, he needs to have that rest, even if he doesn’t want it. This was a frustrating (that word again) display from Ozil, but one that makes total sense when you consider his style and what he was asked to do here.
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The problem is, I don’t see anything changing from this performance. It is going to get dicey in this Christmas period if we expect Ozil to play every single match and I’m not sure I’m looking forward to the results if that is the plan.