Arsenal: Peculiar Mesut Ozil up to the unbelievable with Alexis Sanchez

Arsenal are used to having a superstar controlling proceedings, with the other providing hit-and-miss outings, but are the roles shifting this year?

Arsenal’s fortunes over the past few years have been directly tied to Alexis Sanchez. He has been the big-time guy, capable of changing affairs and dictating the flow of the game, with little to no drawback.

It was Mesut Ozil who played the complimentary role, sitting back and weighing his pros – chance creation – with his cons – fluctuating form.

Those roles didn’t look like they were ever going to change. How could they? The very essence of these two players was quite different. Ozil thrived from the background, didn’t close down every single ball the opponent had, and delighted in pushing others further into the spotlight.

Alexis, meanwhile, thrived in the spotlight, was driven by effort and did close down on every ball. He could change things all on his own, his body language was full of drive and passion. Ozil could not and his language was full of a certain, subtle joy mixed in with the odd complacency.

But these past few matches, the roles have been swapped. All players have their pros and cons, but it has been Alexis’s cons casting a shadow on his pros and Ozil’s pros casting a shadow on his cons.

Now, granted, it’s only been three matches that this change has been ongoing, but all things start somewhere.

The numbers will show you the clear con to Alexis Sanchez – sloppiness with possession. For all the brilliance he has over the ball, he can be pretty volatile at times too, casting up possession pretty easily. Despite his lost possession numbers actually improving, the key difference is that his goals and assists are not.

Last year, he averaged a goal contribution every 94 minutes while also averaging 5.9 losses of possession per appearance. This year he is averaging a goal contribution every 148 minutes while also averaging 5.6 possession losses. You can do the math to see which ratio is more positive.

But for the sake of the argument, that the most unlikely switch may be underway, we have to consider the smaller picture of the past three appearances. In these past three appearances, where Ozil has been at his most influential, Alexis has been good as well, but his influence has been secondary to his German counterpart.

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And the numbers aren’t flattering. Despite registering two goals and nine key passes across the three, he has also registered 20 possession losses. Which is staggering, really. He has also managed just 208 touches, split three ways for an average of 69 touches per appearance.

Ozil, on the other hand, has been far more reliable. With one goal, three assists and 13 key passes, the pros were there, just like Alexis’s. But the cons – where Alexis is really struggling – have not been nearly as prevalent as with the Chilean.

Ozil has lost possession just six times. For someone who is easily bullied off the ball, this is a stunning figure. And for someone who operates out of the shadows traditionally, has controlled 295 touches, nearly 100 per match.

It’s quite the swap, compared to how the tandem used to operate in the past and considering how Ozil has traditionally been viewed as a player. As far as what to make of it, there is no conclusion to draw after just three sample matches. Suffice to say that Alexis is struggling to find his sweet spot while Ozil has found his.

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Whether that means that Ozil is intent on proving his worth so he can stay and Alexis is less so, who knows. I don’t feel the need to extrapolate a further meaning from the swap in influence just yet, but perhaps this is the start of something.

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