Arsenal: Do Germany struggles tell us anything about Mesut Ozil?

Germany lost 3-0 to the Netherlands on Saturday, their fifth defeat in their last nine matches. Do their struggles tell us anything about Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil?

The divorce of Mesut Ozil and the German national team has been a tragic one. Racial ripples, political motivations and the unsettling smell of a scapegoat, the whole debacle has been divisive and saddening. And it has driven a debate regarding the actual influence and impact of the much-maligned, much-misunderstood midfielder.

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Ozil was largely blamed for Germany’s World Cup struggles. He may have created more chances in one match than anyone else in the whole competition, even though he only played in two games — seven against South Korea. He may have created the most chances in the group stages, again, even though he missed a match. And he may have created more chances per 90 minutes than any other player who played more than 90 minutes in the competition by some distance. But he was still to blame, apparently.

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The main reasoning was the lack of defensive discipline that he provides from the number 10 position, unbalancing the midfield and leaving the team extremely exposed to the counter-attack. Germany were painfully vulnerable to fast-paced breaks throughout the World Cup and it is a problem that Arsenal have experienced domestically. Ozil is the common denominator.

But since his retirement in the summer, Germany have continued to struggle against the counter-attack. In Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands, the first time Germany have lost to the Netherlands in 16 years and the first time they have ever lost to the Netherlands by three goals or more, it was again the quick counter-attack that did for Die Mannschaft, who, as Joachim Low stated after the damning defeat, ‘broke apart’ in the final ten minutes.

Germany have now lost five of their last nine matches, failing to score in their past three competitive matches, and have only beaten Peru, Sweden and Saudi Arabia in 2018. Their problems are great and far-reaching. They extend beyond the controversial Ozil. But do they tell us everything about how Ozil is used at Arsenal?

Obviously, a player’s international form and domestic form do not necessarily align with one another. Just ask Danny Welbeck. But what it is particularly interesting in this case is that Germany’s struggles against the counter-attack are not solely Ozil-based. This is especially poignant for Arsenal and Unai Emery in the current way that Ozil is being used.

Shifted out to the right flank to avoid the unbalance in central midfield, Ozil’s creative influence has diminished significantly this season. It is easy to understand why Emery has made this tactical switch. Ozil, when playing centrally, does strain on other areas of the team. But is this strain as intense as some in the media would have you believe? Do Germany’s continued troubles post-Ozil indicate that Ozil is not necessarily the problem? And even if there is a stress and a pressure placed on others, is his creative influence not worth the sacrifice?

Ozil is a difficult player to peg. I have flipped and flopped on my opinion of him repeatedly, and I probably will continue to ad infinitum. But I do believe that the defensive issues that he apparently causes are sometimes overplayed. Germany’s recent struggles are evidence of that. Perhaps Arsenal could learn a thing or two.