Arsenal: Mesut Ozil’s position is dead; he must adapt or die with it

Mesut Ozil’s mystery illness has returned. But he must realise that the game is changing and his best opportunities lie at Arsenal.

Mesut Ozil is seemingly never out of the headlines. Whether it be a racism controversy in Germany or his languid limbs at Arsenal, he always seems to get attention that doesn’t appear to fit his quiet demeanour (most often seen in big games).

So, for what it’s worth, I’d like to throw in my two cents.

The recent mystery illness debacle has led Stan Collymore to say he is a luxury we can’t afford.

"“They should sit down with him, shake his hand and say tell him he is a cracking player, but also a luxury player Arsenal can’t afford right now”"

However, I think Ozil has a bigger problem than that. He is a luxury player that no elite team can afford. Elite teams, by that I mean the absolute top seven or eight, simply do not have luxury players.

Sure they have the best players in the world. But the idea that they don’t work defensively, that they can’t press or follow a tactical plan is fast disappearing.

Did Antoine Griezmann or Kylian Mbappe stand idly by to watch their French teammates deal with attacks while they simply waited for the ball on their way to World Cup glory? Does Pep Guardiola accept that Kevin De Bruyne is so fantastically brilliant that he need not work hard for Manchester City? Does anyone in the top Premier League teams have such a luxury?

Okay I admit, Lionel Messi is probably the laziest brilliant player around right now. But seeing as he’s currently on 554 goals in 639 games for Barcelona we can probably make an exception for him.

I recall Arsenal’s 2006 Champions League Semi-Final opponents, Villarreal being unique for the “quarter-back” maverick they had in Juan Roman Riquelme. Even then, having a number 10 who literally didn’t defend was strange.

But now, the athleticism, speed, and attention to detail of modern football means that it’s just not possible. Real Madrid certainly didn’t win three Champions League titles on the trot by having work-shy prima donnas. Perhaps PSG’s European ambitions haven’t been realised because they do.

So let’s assume that Ozil is having a strop. Because he probably is.

It wouldn’t surprise me if he thought he was holding all the aces. He might be thinking “I’m a top player, best creator in the world, and I can go somewhere I’ll be appreciated instead of dealing with this petty, macho, lung-busting British culture.”

But where would he go that’s a step up from Arsenal? And unfortunately I don’t mean that in the arrogant “we’re the best club in the world” sense.

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With aggressive defensive styles becoming the norm for the “big six” in England, I can’t imagine Ozil would fit into any of their plans. Germany is probably the last place Mesut would like to be right now.

I doubt Massimo Allegri would be willing to accept Ozil as he is, but maybe an Italian sleeping giant like Internazionale or AC Milan would? As long as they didn’t baulk at his staggering wages. Even so, is that a step up?

His most natural fit, Spain, feels unlikely too. Barcelona have invested plenty in their forward line and are unlikely to stump up the £30-50m required for a player to sit on the bench. Real Madrid similarly have a wealth of younger, less languid, more modern number 10’s.

PSG surely have realised that they need more workers and less superstars if they are to achieve their European dreams?

The last option, occasionally touted in the past few years is Turkey, his second home. Is there a silly owner willing to pay the necessary sums? Probably. But running away from elite football hardly feels like holding all the aces.

In all probability, if any of the other options had appeared viable to Mesut in the past 18 months, he wouldn’t have signed a new contract. Which takes us to now.

His mercurial talent means that his impressive honours of five cups, one league title and a World Cup win still don’t do him justice. He must wake up and realise that his best chance of changing that is with Unai Emery at Arsenal.

He need not transform into N’Golo Kante, some hard yards will do just fine.