Arsenal: What if Mesut Ozil benching goes beyond Bournemouth?

Arsenal did not utilize Mesut Ozil at all against Bournemouth, and questions were asked, but were the answers completely accurate? Hard to say.

The biggest surprise in the Arsenal starting XI that Unai Emery sent out against Bournemouth was the lack of Mesut Ozil. Not only did Ozil not start, but he didn’t even play. And this coming after two straight matches where he worked incredibly hard to retain his spot.

Unai Emery spoke out after the game and said that he was aiming for a more physical side against Bournemouth, and thus the German was dropped, as he is not a particularly physical player. Maybe that makes sense, but what if there was more to it than that?

And no, I’m not referring to this idea that’s going around out there that Ozil could continue to be dropped. That seems silly when the alternatives aren’t that great – certainly not any better than Ozil would be.

Ozil showed against Crystal Palace that he wants to play. His tantrum after being subbed was not for show. It was him erupting at not being able to make a bigger impact on the match. And when he came out against Liverpool and worked his arse off for 90 minutes, it was clear – this man wants to be on that pitch as much as possible.

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He’s walking the walk now, along with talking the talk. He has always been outspoken about his passion for life at the Emirates, and he showed it as well.

Being subbed off for the last half hour wound him up to no end. It brought out a side in Mesut Ozil that I’ve never seen before – a side that was not okay with not being effective. He was trying to force himself into effectiveness, and I loved the result.

If benching him for half an hour brought that out, then what will benching him for an entire match have done?

With Tottenham up next, and Ozil now more aware than ever that his starting job is far from secure, what better time for him to really go out there and try to prove himself like he hasn’t proven himself in years? He’ll be well aware of how much the match means to fans, so if he can dominate the spotlight with a truly special effort, then Emery would be a fool to bench him again.

That’s the objective, right? To earn as much playing time as possible? Maybe this was all to wind up Ozil. Even if it wasn’t, hopefully it has that effect.