Arsenal and Mesut Ozil: You give what you get

Mesut Ozil has made some admissions about his time at Arsenal, and it’s safe to say that everything he has felt, we fans have felt too.

Given that it’s international break, there isn’t a lot going on in the Arsenal world, other than the few odd quotes from players and (former) managers. Oddly enough, it has been Mesut Ozil doing a lot of the talking, as he has revealed more about his time in North London in a recent interview with the club’s official website.

Most of it was pretty unremarkable stuff, recounting when he first arrived in North London and how so many people were waiting for him and how great that was. But the one quote from this interview that stands out is his take on his career at the Emirates, boiled down to one sentence.

“It’s not always been easy, but it has always been special,” he said.

Now that he says it, I don’t think there is a better way to sum up how we, as fans, feel about his time either. Which just goes to show, you give what you get.

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Ozil’s time in North London has not ben easy. He has had extensive periods of being either unenthused or ineffective. Oftentimes both. He has had mystery illnesses that no one bothers to explain, until his agent randomly rants that it was an ongoing “back issue” that, similarly, no one had heard about.

His work ethic has been questioned, his plausibility in the Premier League has been questioned, his everything has been questioned. Even in his 19 assist season, he did most of the heavy lifting in the first half of the season. The second half was pretty unremarkable.

But would any of us trade out the good times solely to get rid of the bad ones? I don’t think so. It hasn’t been easy carrying Ozil on the team, but the special times make it completely worth it. The special things that only Ozil can do will ensure that it is always worth it.

This year has threatened to upset that ‘not always easy’ part of things though. Ozil has been working his arse off to get back to his best self, which we’ve only really seen against Leicester City, but in the process, he hasn’t been a drag.

So maybe it can get even more special with Unai Emery at the helm. And maybe a bit easier too.