Arsenal: Mesut Ozil Could Make It As Wide Midfielder

Arsenal welcomed and in-form Mesut Ozil back to their compendium of threats and in the process, received validation that a 4-4-2 formation could work.

A lot of talking heads out there have been debating whether Arsenal could switch to a 4-4-2 formation to better utilize their resources. No doubt a Giroud/Alexis front two would be absolutely fantastic. Even a Giroud/Welbeck with Alexis staying out wide would be incredibly useful.

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However, the question that blows up this scenario is what happens to Mesut Ozil. He can’t play a central role because of his lack of defensive abilities. Therefore he would only have on option in that 4-4-2, unless we really want him to be Dennis Bergkamp and switch him to a second striker – he has to move out wide.

For the German national team, he plays a wide left position, but for Arsenal, that No. 10 role has become his domain. He registered 19 assists from the No. 10 spot.

But when you watch the man play, a lot of his control and possession comes from wide angles anyway. Even his assists generally come from crosses from wide. He makes a few impact plays in the middle, but he never dwells on the ball there, choosing instead to drift out wide and control the ball with the touchline to his back.

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It makes me think that should Arsenal make that shift to a 4-4-2 like they used to have in the glory days, then they would be just fine putting Ozil wide left. It seems to be his natural inclination anyway.

Check out his heat map from this latest match against Burnley. Most of his time isn’t spent in the middle. That’s perfectly normal, but it also leaves plenty of room for interpretation, as he could do exactly what he is currently doing with, say, Ramsey and Xhaka holding down the middle.

You could almost argue that we almost already have a 4-4-2 anyway, with how forward Alexis gets. But he still stays out wide and there are some who don’t like that and want to see him move back into the middle of the pitch – even if that means unnecessarily sacrificing Olivier Giroud.

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Arsene Wenger does not like change. It’s probably one of his least favorite things. So we shouldn’t expect a change anytime soon. But the question of what it would do to Ozil should be put to rest. It’s not like the 4-2-3-1 that we use it incredibly rigid. The same would go with a 4-4-2.