Arsenal: No more evidence needed against Mesut Ozil

Arsenal had Mesut Ozil back to full health, but Arsene Wenger sat him anyway. This is the right decision, and we can rest easy knowing all that we now know.

Given the massive (and often violent) divide between Mesut Ozil’s fan club at Arsenal and those supporters who take a different opinion, I have made a habit of beginning all my Ozil articles with a disclaimer. So here it is again: I understand who Ozil is as a player. I really appreciate who he is as a player and as a human being. He is as upstanding as they come. But my criticism of him goes beyond what he is capable of or who he is. It’s about the team.

That said, if you are one of those people that often says “if you don’t love Mesut Ozil, you don’t understand football” then you should probably click on over to another article because you won’t like what I have to say.

But I’ve said it all before. All I am adding to it this time around is that, following the Watford match, we have yet another key piece of evidence that shows how and why Ozil is no longer right for this club and arguably, how he was never right for it in the first place.

Now, credit where it’s due, Ozil did come on and create two chances. That’s something he 100% deserves credit for, because I certainly didn’t expect that.

But in the midst of creating all those chances, he also had a wide open, cookie-cut opportunity to put the game to bed. With no one to beat but Heurelho Gomes and the entire goal to choose from, Ozil tapped a wide open shot right into the Watford keeper, who gratefully collected it.

From there, Watford would go on to “earn” the wrongly-awarded penalty and win the game. I’m not going to blame Ozil completely for the loss, since he didn’t call the penalty and he wasn’t most responsible for the second goal. But at a time where he could have sealed the result, he flubbed.

Arsenal brought in guys like Ozil so that chances like that would stop being missed. And I get it, people miss chances all the time. Olivier Giroud misses plenty and I defend him all the time. But if Ozil really is this sublime talent who is great for the club, then why is it that since his last start (September 9), Arsenal have managed five wins and a draw?

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Wenger even had to come out and do his typical defense of a player and say that this does not mean that the club is better without the German.

But that’s the thing – they are.

What did we see in that first half for Arsenal? We saw an energetic and physically strong Alex Iwobi, just like we have seen in the past. We did not miss Mesut Ozil. And again, I admire who Ozil is. I’m not set against him like I am Theo Walcott. We just have not missed him. Iwobi was not the problem during the match.

The problem stemmed from deeper in the midfield, but that is a topic for another article.

Ozil is not needed at Arsenal if they are going to move forward. He needs to be surrounded by protection, backed by strength and given supply lines to world class finishers. That simply isn’t something the Gunners can provide in the immediate future.

Next: 5 Things Learned From Watford Loss

Players like Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi are the way forward. Maybe not them specifically, but effort guys like them. We can’t bank on luxuries anymore. This club needs to change, and that starts with understanding who we are and what we have.

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