Arsenal Vs Paris Saint-Germain: The Mesut Ozil show

Arsenal beat Paris Saint-Germain in the International Champions Cup on Saturday afternoon. The preseason friendly saw the return of Mesut Ozil. It was, without question, the German’s show.

The fans were baying for Mesut Ozil on Thursday in Arsenal’s first of two International Champions Cup fixtures in Singapore. Their wishes were heard two days later, this time against Paris Saint-Germain as the Gunners wrapped up their Southeast Asian endeavours with a win against the French champions. And this was indeed the Ozil show.

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As soon as the team sheet was announced, the most interesting aspect of Unai Emery’s team was the role of Ozil. Such are the defensive and structural headaches that the German’s presence can cause, it is sometimes difficult to know where is best to play him to both allow him to flourish and to protect the rest of the team.

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It seems as though Emery has his answer: as high up the pitch as is possible. Whether this was a 4-3-3, a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2 doesn’t really matter. It’s only a matter of a few yards of positioning here and there. It doesn’t really make a difference to the overall shape of the team. But what does is the role of Ozil, who was pushed right onto the shoulder of the PSG defence, alongside centre-forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The advanced starting position gave Ozil the freedom that he strives for to roam throughout the pitch, finding and exploiting the pockets of space just in front of the PSG defence and wide of the back-three. His goal, for instance, saw him drift towards the left side as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang span into the space on the right. As PSG then slid across the pitch to crowd out Aubemeyang’s angle, Ozil stayed wide, waiting for the low cross that he then converted.

He also could have had a penalty when he slid into that same inside-left channel, though the referee thought otherwise, and he was consistently able to find space towards the left side of the central third, receiving the ball on the half-turn before looking to thread forward passes into Aubameyang or an overlapping Sead Kolasinac.

Ozil was also named captain on the day. That should not go unnoticed. Emery spoke of how he wanted to welcome Ozil back to Arsenal after a difficult and controversial World Cup. He wants the club to be a place of protection and comfort for its players, especially those that are facing tough times elsewhere. What better way to make that statement than to make the most-criticised figure captain of the team?

It is somewhat futile to judge how well Ozil actually played in this fixture. It is his first game of the season, it’s not an especially competitive fixture either, and PSG fielded a team stocked full of teenagers.

Nevertheless, the role that he played, the fact he was captain, the furore and buzz around his turn. It is undeniable that this was the Mesut Ozil show.