Arsenal: Mesut Ozil Spiral Hints Wenger May Be Losing The Plot
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal’s loss at Chelsea is characterized by many failings, few as resounding as Mesut Ozil’s, whose efforts may hint at a much larger problem.
Arsenal are effectively removed from the title race, despite what Arsene Wenger is going to lead us to believe. Chelsea showed us how champions play when they need a win and Arsenal showed us how pretenders play when they need a win.
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And speaking of pretenders, let me take a moment to dig into the biggest pretender on the day – Mesut Ozil. Now, I’m not here to argue his sparkly career or his massive achievements or even his character, as he is an outstanding human being.
I’m here to argue how terrible he looked and how little he seemed to care about it.
By now, everyone has seen his horrid “effort” as he took a light job in pursuit of Eden Hazard as he dissected our defense like a scalpel. Ozil was right there the entire time but not once did he put any effort into his jog. Not once.
And that wasn’t the first time his lack of effort had been seen that day.
Remember when Arsene Wenger made it a requirement that all players defend? He was so serious about it that he even benched Theo Walcott, his prodigal son, until the Englishman could learn to track back.
Has that plot line been completely lost, or is Mesut Ozil leading by such a poor example that Wenger has no say over the lack of tracking back?
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Ozil was not the only guilty party. Theo Walcott, in the first quarter hour, let Marcos Alonso run free to Bellerin, where he headed the ball in for the first goal. Ozil and Monreal both had a nice jog in behind Hazard as he sliced and diced for the second goal.
When you are 0-0 or 0-1 in a match you absolutely must win, why in the hell are you not putting in the effort? If you’re ever going to put in the effort, that would be the time.
If you are 3-0 up (or even down), I’ll somewhat understand if you feel too good to track back .I shouldn’t have to, but for the sake of this argument, I will. But again, when you’re 0-0 or 0-1 to the (expletive) title leaders and you’re having a stroll at crucial moments, then there is something massively wrong with the club and you are a big part of it.
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It was pathetic. Plain and simple. It’s one thing to lose, it’s another to lose with so many poor attitudes. Inexcusable. But as this is a team of no consequences, nothing will change. Ozil will be back out there. Monreal and Walcott will be back out there. And we will be back at square on.