Arsenal: Questioning Mesut Ozil is just a way of life for some

Mesut Ozil will never escape scrutiny while at Arsenal, not even when he is playing for Germany. But by now, we should all know and accept this.

Arsenal are a team constantly under the scrutiny of everyone. There’s no way around that. Most top-tier clubs have that problem, but the bias against them is known and it is annoying, but it is a part of life.

The fact that Arsenal have a partnership with Mesut Ozil is just perpetual fuel for the fire. Ozil, like Arsenal, is so easy to criticize and requires near perfection to be praised. It’s a recipe for annoyance, that’s for sure.

Ozil can’t even escape the criticism when he isn’t playing for the red and white. Taking the field against Mexico in his first match of the World Cup, Ozil was criticized (praised?) by Gary Neville for playing harder with Germany because they are a “better team” with “better players.”

It’s just more of the same from Neville, taking unnecessary digs at a player that he just can’t fathom, much like he has done so many other times.

It is a broken record and nothing more.

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But this is what life with Mesut Ozil is like. No player is beyond reproach, and it would be silly to suggest otherwise. That would require a perfect player, of which there are none. Not even Mesut Ozil.

The thing with Ozil that is so, ridiculously tedious is that it is the same criticism over and over and over again. It’s nothing new. “He’s mopey,” “he doesn’t track back,” so on and so forth. They are perpetual criticisms that are constantly available to anyone who wants them.

That’s not to say the claims can’t be substantiated, but it’s known. What is the point of constantly harping on the same old thing if you can’t also appreciate the good that he does? It’s what separates people whose opinions deserve to be listened to from those that don’t. There are many facets of a player and if there are people out there who only see one part (particularly the negative), then they don’t deserve to be listened to.

Not in the least. It’s so easy to criticize, but it’s not much more difficult to actually appreciate what someone can do.

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Anyway, that’s my rant about Ozil. It’s fine to criticize him if you can also appreciate what he can do. But so few can, and that’s a true shame.

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