Arsenal: Mesut Ozil On His Quest For Redemption

Mesut Ozil showed glimpses of his best in Arsenal’s win over West Ham United on Wednesday. He is beginning his quest for redemption.

It is no surprise that Arsenal poor run of form in the middle of their season coincided with the struggles of one Mesut Ozil. Just as the pressure was increasing, it was the German who faltered, lacking both the mentality to succeed in the the stressful environment and the work ethic to toil through periods of poor form.

The German has been the centre of a debate since coming to England focusing on his effort. Ozil’s quality on the ball is rarely doubted. He boasts outstanding vision, exquisite technique and the accuracy in his passing to pick apart even the tightest of his defences. However, many questions come regarding his effort levels, especially when his side are defending.

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Thanks to his languid style, there are sections of the media and the fanbase that argue that Ozil is lazy, that he does not work hard enough for the good of the team and that the Gunners would be better served by replacing him. That, though, is not the view of former Arsenal striker Ian Wright. Working as a pundit on Match of the Day reviewing the 3-0 win over West Ham United, Wright detailed how he, as a striker, would want to play in front of Ozil, and that his attacking output vindicates his defensive shortcomings:

"“I’m just delighted Arsenal got something from the game. Mesut Ozil does what he does. It’s his demeanour which upsets people, throwing his hands up in the air. It’s unfortunate for him that because of his languid style he gets a lot of stick. As a forward, I’d want him behind me.”"

While was excellent in the second half of Wednesday night’s win, showing glimpses that he is set to return to his best towards the close of the season, he has been desperately poor for such a long time that many fans have lost patience with him and would happily see him leave in the summer.

And those fans are justified in their gripes. Ozil rarely performs well on the biggest stage, is not consistent enough to anchor a title challenge as his moments of creativity and ingenuity go through peaks and troughs, and seemingly lacks the fight, the grit, the mettle required to grind out the hard-earned but equally valuable wins through the winter months.

Next: Arsenal Vs West Ham: 5 Things We Learned

His standing with fans and the media alike has never been lower, even with the instrumental display against West Ham. Ozil has started his quest for redemption; to prove that he is a valuable contributor of the squad, but there is still a long way to go.

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