Arsenal: “Fading” Mesut Ozil the gift that will always give

Arsenal’s sputtering form seems to match that of Mesut Ozil’s, but the thing is, Ozil isn’t sputtering. He is doing the best thing imaginable.

Arsenal have hit a poor run of form yet again, and in the midst of it, Mesut Ozil has yet to tally a goal or an assist. This may seem like the ultimate “told you so” for an Ozil naysayer, but watching the games tells a different story.

Ozil used to be either the biggest hit or the whiffinggest (I know that’s not a word) miss. There was no in-between, and this was a point that often hindered his ability to be relied on. Yes, his chance creation was always there, but the rest of his game came and went like a Dothraki horde.

Ozil had a fantastic streak where he accumulated two goals and fives assists, his season tally, in just five matches. It was the breakout we had been waiting for.

Since then, he has gone three matches without a hard stat, just like how the Gunners have gone three matches without a win. But contrary to what the numbers may tell you, this is not a matter of Ozil fading with the team.

Anything but.

Instead, this is the case of Ozil doing what I thought he could never do – fade into consistency. No player is always going to be at the top of his game. Ozil is part of that crowd. The fact that he has come down off the top of his game and still managed to be remarkably reliable in the winless steak speaks more to me than the five game streak.

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There never was an in-between, now we may have found it. He has faded from the public eye for perhaps the first time in his Arsenal existence. It was always either “Ozil is the greatest thing ever” or “sell him now” but never just pure, unadulterated silence.

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Which is what we have now. No praise, no hatred. Just Ozil being a functioning member of a team without them utilizing his goals or assists.

I often remark how the No. 1 thing about Sead Kolasinac that impresses me is how even his bad games aren’t bad. They are just not quite as superb as his great games. But he is still reliable, consistent and all of those great things.

I often threw Ozil into the category of those that couldn’t replicate that. But here I am, remarking about Ozil going three matches now without a goal or assist. In a good way. He doesn’t have to be spectacular always. You can’t expect that of everyone. What you can expect, what you should expect, is consistency.

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And if that is what Ozil has found in the most recent dip in form for the gunners, well, then perhaps there is some good coming out of this after all.