Arsenal: Mesut Ozil Actually Said Something Worth Listening To

Arsenal has been desperate for some good form from Mesut Ozil, but at the very least he has sweetened the air a bit with some meaningful words.

Mesut Ozil‘s glorious 2015/16 campaign seems like a century ago, as his goal production has been nowhere near that fabled season. It has been a return to the dumps for the Arsenal maestro, who has been handily boxed by nearly everyone.

Naturally, the fact that he said something else about his future shouldn’t be all that worth listening too, given his track record of saying nothing that we didn’t already know or that he felt it is unfair to be singled out.

I won’t get too far ahead of myself though, so first let me clarify. I’m not saying that Mesut Ozil doesn’t have anything to say worth listening to. I just ordered his autobiography (literally cannot wait). If I thought he didn’t have anything to say worth listening to, I wouldn’t have done that.

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I’m just saying that I am so beyond words at this point that nothing any player says has much of an impact anymore. I was mildly relieved when Theo Walcott made that admission about this not being Arsenal, but even that faded.

However, reading Ozil’s latest statements, I couldn’t help but feel inspired by his team-first mentality. Even as I have spent the last two months berating him for talking with his mouth and not his play. This is different.

This may actually lend credence to what Wenger says, that Ozil cares more than we think. Ozil isn’t the kind of guy who is going to say things just to appease someone. So if he is saying this about the players not mattering, and the team being the first priority, than we shouldn’t think it’s some great act. It’s not.

Before I get any further, here are his words:

"The team are having a more difficult spell and at this stage I am not important, no other player is important, what is important is the club. We’ve got aims we want to meet this season, there is still lots for us to play for. We still desperately want to qualify for the Champions League. We will talk in the summer and clear things then but at the moment what is important is Arsenal, not me or any other players."

Those are words I honestly wouldn’t expect to hear from any Gunner. But sure enough, it wasn’t just a Gunner, but the Gunner most highly criticized for not caring.

It also sounds like he is incredibly invested in next season, meaning that you can probably bank on him staying put for at least one more year and probably more. Especially if Champions League football is achieved, which, granted, is no given.

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There is still a lot to show from Ozil, mostly on the pitch in his never-ending search for consistency. But this is a fantastic start, and lo and behold, it came from just words. It’s funny how it can have such a different feel when players don’t use canned statements and instead, say what they actually mean.

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