Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey provides less handcuffs than Mesut Ozil

Aaron Ramsey had his first stinker for Arsenal at the No. 10 position, but the question should not be reopened. He’s far better than Mesut Ozil.

When Arsenal line up as they did against Newcastle, the formation, on paper is a 4-2-3-1. But what it really ends up being is a 4-?-1, where the ? represents whoever the hell feels like cramming into the middle of the pitch.

The problem of width has been discussed for a long time, and it’s times like these where that problem comes into the light, because at any given time, Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil are both clamoring to play the same position.

They do’t do all that well together because they are on the pitch to do the same thing. Ozil isn’t a winger. Ramsey isn’t a winger. There is only one No. 10. They are both No. 10’s. So you see the problem is really down to mathematics.

Against Newcastle, neither was particularly good. Ramsey had a setback after I had sung his praises and said that he had finally found his consistency, but part of the problem has to come down to the looming Ozil, who, in case you haven’t heard, isn’t a winger.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

It may be a matter of having to choose between one or the other. Which is tough, not just because of the conflicting skillsets, but also because of the conflicting status with the team. Ozil is locked in long-term and Ramsey is in dire need of a new deal.

Still, I’m here to tell you that Ramsey offers far more than Ozil does, mainly in that he provides less handcuffs.

With Ozil, it will always be the case that he does one thing well – he passes. I’ll even throw in that he dribbles decently, though we haven’t seen much of that lately.

Ramsey, however, does so much more. Try to find something he doesn’t do. He’s just a much more valuable player, especially in an Unai Emery set-up that values the engine mentality that Ramsey has and that Ozil is the antithesis of.

What might be a more realistic goal for this club is to aim for a 4-3-3, where Ramsey drops back with the budding midfield and two actual wingers are allowed to do their thing. But that’s long-term.

In the short-term, these two are struggling to coexist. Maybe it’s not a dire need to break them up, as they are probably our two best options, but it could become a bigger problem as time goes on.