Arsenal: Yes, Mesut Ozil has yet more to prove in Singapore

Arsenal and Mesut Ozil have had an on-again, off-again relationship, and we are in the latter stages again. This man needs Singapore.

Arsenal‘s trip to Singapore is fast-approaching and, after that 8-0 thumping they put on Boreham Woods, I’m sure I’m not alone in expressing just how damn excited I am to see this team in action some more.

And by the sounds of it, we can start expecting some needed answers to some pesky questions on the trip as well.

Namely, what is Mesut Ozil, and how does he fit into this Unai Emery era.

I talked yesterday about the lingering question that Ozil’s presence asks, but I didn’t get to go much into how he can answer that question.

He won’t be able to answer all of it in Singapore. Or at least, he probably don’t be, unless he starts laying bruising tackles on everyone in sight, screaming at sullen team mates, etc. But that doesn’t mean he can’t start answering the question.

The question, of course, being where exactly he fits into this whole thing. Because on the surface, he just doesn’t.

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Ozil has something to prove, therefore. And I don’t mean something as in “is he good enough.” We know the answer to that, the answer is yes, Ozil is good enough for any team in the world. That has nothing to do with it. This is all about his ability to acclimate. His ability to prove that he is going to be a crucial piece of the puzzle and not drift off into obscurity.

And honestly, either could happen. As Arsene Wenger said, Ozil needs support and if he doesn’t have it, he could fade. If he fades, Unai Emery is not going to be that benevolent, patient man that Wenger was.

It’s team first.

More than that, Ozil really needs a rebound after the horrid World Cup campaign of his Germany. I say again that Ozil had very little to do with their demise, but for his own sake – and by extension the sake of the team – he really needs a comfortable start to the new era.

I may question Ozil a lot, but getting the best out of him should still weigh pretty heavily on Emery’s list of things to do, even if he isn’t strictly an Emery-esque player.

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It can work. Of course it can work. It’s now up to everyone at the club to figure out how.

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