Arsenal Vs West Ham: Yes, Mesut Ozil would have helped

Mesut Ozil was left out of the 18-man matchday squad for Arsenal’s defeat against West Ham United. If it is for tactical reasons, Unai Emery made a mistake. A big one.

Arsenal failed to score for the first time in a Premier League since the opening weekend loss to Manchester City in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to West Ham United, a stretch of 20 games that saw them score 46 goals, the third-most in the country.

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Most criminally, they didn’t really deserve to score. Chances were few and far between, and the ones that they did create were wasted by both Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The team lacked control in the midfield, creativity in the final third, and the clinical nature that has defined their play so far this season in the penalty area.

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Prior to kick-off, Unai Emery made a rather brave decision: he chose to drop Mesut Ozil from the matchday squad altogether, reportedly for ‘tactical reasons’ according to the London Evening Standard. In the Sky Sports’ commentary, it was mentioned that Arsenal felt this match was too soon for Ozil, the German only returning to full training this week from injury. However, that suggestion has been largely outweighed by several media outlets aligning themselves with the London Evening Standard’s reporting.

Either way, not having Ozil in the squad was a major problem. Arsenal’s biggest weakness was their inability to move the ball through the midfield and create chances in the final third. Only Alex Iwobi offered any semblance of connection between the phases, with many players providing a complete lack of movement, speed and options off the ball — the number of times the back three was forced to pass sideways between each other or back to Bernd Leno was embarrassing.

I can understand why Emery did not want to start Ozil. This was the type of game that he does tend to struggle in. West Ham were quick, athletic, snapping into challenges, pressing high up the pitch, not allowing their visitors any time on the ball whatsoever. Ozil does have a habit of wilting in such matches.

Nevertheless, to not have him on the bench was a criminal mistake. When the Gunners were chasing the game in the final 30 minutes, no player would have been more useful than Ozil to orchestrate the attacking play from those inside pockets of space that he picks up so intelligently.

There are plenty of reasons for Ozil to not be involved. And as Emery tries to reshape this squad in a manner that he wants, I can completely understand why he does not want to use Ozil from the start. But there is not one ‘tactical reason’ that I can comprehend for why Ozil should not be on the bench if a late goal is needed, particularly considering the limited alternative options that Emery has available to him — there were only two attacking players on the bench, Aaron Ramsey and 19-year-old Eddie Nketiah. Ozil, assuming he was fit enough, should have been sat there with them.

I respect Emery for trying to establish his identity and put his stamp on this team. And in the long-term, he is mostly making the right decisions. But to not have Ozil on the bench is utterly criminal. He could have absolutely helped here, only he was not even at the stadium. That is a problem.