Arsenal: Mesut Ozil Still Patiently Waiting In Stand-By Mode

Arsenal has not seen the best of Mesut Ozil in a month, so the fact that the team is still pulling results means tons for the return of the maestro.

Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, being the two resident superstars at Arsenal, have a lot of pressure to constantly perform at the top of their physical abilities. Which isn’t always possible. They are human just like everyone else and for them to constantly be at their best is a ridiculous expectation.

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But still, we as fans expect it. Ozil even came out recently and said that if he were to go ten great performances and then falter in one, the criticism would be ripe. And he’s not wrong.

Arsenal was without Mesut Ozil for a couple weeks in December due to illness, which was rather poorly placed, as he had just succumbed to two atrocious performances against Everton and Manchester City. That may damn well be where we will point at and say “that’s where the title was lost” in the end. That is, in the event that we have to point fingers. I’m still believing in the trophy.

Still, Ozil’s two poor performances followed by absences gave us all plenty of time to stew and boil over the recent let down that he had delivered to us. It was frustrating and we needed someone to target. Ozil is just an easy target sometimes.

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It didn’t help that on his return, he was still kind of lukewarm. We have not seen the dominant Mesut Ozil that started the year in fantastic fashion. His goals have subsided and his assists have still yet to catch on.

And yet the team is still in striking distance of the title and they are pulling in results without their central attacking midfielder fully clicking.

It’s like Ozil is still in stand-by mode, waiting to be fully activated.

This is actually really exciting if you stop to think about it. Arsenal’s wins lately have come via Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud and a healthy dollop of Alex Iwobi, but Ozil has been quiet. He is still creating chances and moving the ball around, but the hard stats aren’t coming off. Nor is the visual defense we can often point to and say “look, there’s Ozil at his best.”

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He just hasn’t been there. But it will come in time. This is Mesut Ozil we are talking about. Burnley will give him a ton of room and that sounds pretty enticing.