Arsenal: Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey must follow Alex Iwobi’s lead

Alex Iwobi has proven that he is integral to Arsenal’s attacking potency. Both Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey must now follow the Nigerian’s lead and do precisely the same.

When a new manager comes to a club, almost all of the previous players at the club have to once again prove their worth. The loyalties that existed with the previous coaching regime are no longer relevant and new relationships must be established.

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For Arsenal, this is a new phenomenon. Arsene Wenger has been at the helm for more than two decades. The players knew him and he knew the players. But in the summer, after Wenger resigned and Unai Emery entered, everything changed. Most notably, those players who previously had the manager’s favour could no longer rely on it.

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There is one area where that has been most noticeable: attacking midfield. The best player in that rough position so far this season has been Alex Iwobi. The Nigerian international, primarily playing off the left flank, has showcased his usual technical, athletic and mental abilities, but has now partnered them with a greater confidence, conviction in his play, steely self-belief, and production — he has one goal and three assists in 377 Europa League and Premier League minutes.

Iwobi, so far this season, has proven himself integral to the Arsenal attack, so much so that many fans are calling for Emery to consistently start him in the Premier League. His performances have been convincing, so much so that he has made it impossible for him to be dropped, or very difficult, at least.

The same cannot be said for either Mesut Ozil or Aaron Ramsey. Under Wenger, both were staples of the midfield. The team was predominantly built around Ozil’s creative talents, while Ramsey was the beating heart of the team in a bursting box-to-box role. Neither has been true this season.

Ozil is yet to record a league assist — he does have two goals, but his underlying creative numbers are drastically lower than previous seasons — and Ramsey has struggled to adapt to the number 10 role that Emery has tried to squeeze him into. And in the last outing, a 5-1 win against Fulham prior to the international break, Arsenal looked rather handy without either of them starting.

Although Ramsey scored and assisted in that game when he was introduced in the second half, he was playing in a slightly deeper, more traditional central midfield role. I am not here to make the argument of their relative unimportance proven by their absence, but the fact of the matter is clear: Arsenal’s best offensive performance of the year came without either Ozil or, largely Ramsey.

Iwobi, in that very match, in fact, proved himself integral to Emery’s style and system. Ozil and Ramsey are yet to do that. And if they don’t, their places in the starting XI will not last all that long.