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Arsenal: Mohamed Salah has laid the way for Mesut Ozil
Mohamed Salah sensationally inspired Liverpool to a remarkable Champions League semi-final win over Roma on Tuesday night, perfectly lighting up the way for Mesut Ozil as Arsenal host Atletico Madrid on Thursday night.
It was Mo Salah night. Those famous European nights at Anfield again saw the stanchions rocking only as much as the opposition. This was a blistering Liverpool at their finest, carving through a hapless and hopeless Roma side unbeknownst to the whirlwind that was tearing them apart.
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And the name of that whirlwind is Mohamed Salah, an Egyptian king who now reigns in Merseyside. This might be his crowning glory. Of the now 43 goals he has scored this season, he may well have saved his best, and most important, for this moment right here. Salah and Liverpool are likely on their way to the Champions League final and potentially further European glory.
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The reason why I bring up the PFA Player of the Year is simple: He provides the perfect example as to what Arsenal require out of Mesut Ozil as they prepare for their own European semi-final on Thursday night, this time in the Europa League not the Champions League, but arguably against tougher oppohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltd5JqbVaVwnents in Atletico Madrid, not Roma.
And this has regularly been the type of game that Ozil has gone quiet in in the past. While he has improved this season, for most of the games against the big six in the Premier League or in the Champions League, he has often shrunk into the shadows of the match, playing on the peripheries of the game. For any player, that is concerning. For a player of Ozil’s price tag, talent, and reputation, it is utterly unacceptable.
The great players perform at their greatest when it is most important. It is one of the most remarkable things about Cristiano Ronaldo. As he has aged and he has been forced to measure his efforts a little more, adopting his approach slightly, he has still been able to produce these game-changing performances when his team needs him most. Can the same be said for Ozil?
And now Salah is replicating that same big-game greatness that separates the talented from the generational. The true brilliance of Salah this season has been that he has changed the most important games in Liverpool’s favour — he has had a direct hand in six of the ten goals that they have scored in their last three Champions League games: two goals and an assist across the two legs against Manchester City; two goals and two assists on Tuesday against Roma.
Next: Arsenal: 3 players to step up in Mesut Ozil absence
That is the type of display that Ozil needs to be putting in for Arsenal. When it’s crunch time in these big competitions. When trophies are on the line. When Champions League places are up for grabs. When Arsene Wenger’s send-off is waiting. This is when Ozil needs to shine. He has seen Salah do it already. Can he now do the same?