Arsenal Vs Chelsea: Aaron Ramsey proves Mesut Ozil must change

The energy and application of Aaron Ramsey was critical to Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday. It is more proof of Mesut Ozil’s need to change.

It was a tactic first devised by Mauricio Pochettino. Chelsea, unbeaten prior to their trip to Wembley stadium, had started the season wonderfully. Sarriball had overtaken the London club and dreams of a title challenge were once again sprouting in the Blues’ faithful’s nights.

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Spurs, though, illustrated precisely how any team nullify the free-flowing attacking play of Chelsea: disrupt Jorginho. For Pochetino, it was Dele Alli who was assigned this critical task. On Saturday, for Arsenal, it was Aaron Ramsey who was handed the same responsibility. Both did their jobs admirably.

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At its essence, the man-marking job is a question of effort and energy. It isn’t very difficult, mentally, to follow one player around the pitch. Yes, you have to be aware of spaces around you. And yes, there needs to smart decision-making, when to close them down, when to drop off. But ultimately, it is a case of how applied, committed and fit can the defending player be. In the case of Alli and Ramsey, it was plenty enough.

With the evolution of the modern game focusing on pressing, possession and counter-attacks, with the whole pitch now defended and players now tasked with covering far more ground than they have ever had to do before, there is an increasing need for every single member of the XI to pull their weight. The ability to carry a luxury player is not one that many modern teams can afford.

This has spurred a chance in the style of the attacking midfielder. Gone are the days of a true number 10 like Dennis Bergkamp or Eric Cantona or Gianfranco Zola that offer little to no defensive output. Kevin de Bruyne, Alli and his teammate Christian Eriksen, Ramsey, these are the attacking midfielders that modern teams now require, midfielders with both the ingenuity and craft on the ball of their forefathers, but also the awareness, athleticism and industry to press.

In Arsenal’s win over Chelsea, Ramsey conducted this job brilliantly. He hounded and harassed Jorginho relentlessly throughout the first half. He harried and hurried him. He pushed him off balance. He allowed him no time to orchestrate from deep. In essence, he did the pressing job of a modern-day number 10. And that, sadly, is precisely what Mesut Ozil is not.

Whether he would not or he could not, I do not know, but throughout his career, Ozil has proven beyond any doubt that the pressing of Ramsey is not in his game. It is why Unai Emery has left him out of so many matches this season due to ‘tactical reasons’; it is why Ramsey started ahead of him here.

What did Ramsey’s performance — and Alli’s before him — prove? That Ozil needs to change. The modern game demands it, and I think Emery might too.