Arsenal: Let’s be honest, is there any way back for Mesut Ozil?

Mesut Ozil has been finding it hard to get into the current Arsenal picture with Unai Emery in charge, and it’s time we ask the question – is there any way back?

Mesut Ozil earned a promotion against Chelsea. He was on the Arsenal bench. One would have thought that there would have been an appearance by the German in a match of that intensity, and maybe there would have been, if Bellerin’s injury didn’t force Emery’s hand. But chances are, it wouldn’t have.

The fact of the matter is that Ozil probably would have been eaten alive in this match. When I saw Aubameyang make the tackles that he did, and Lacazette too, my first thought (does this make me a bad person?) was that I knew Ozil wouldn’t be doing the same. It’s not in his nature.

Which begs the question that we’ve not exactly asked yet – is there anyway back for Mesut Ozil? We hear a lot about how he wants to fight for his place in the squad, and that’s cute and all, but what can he actually do to accomplish that end?

That’s the thing we need to consider. It’s not whether or not Ozil is talented, of course he is, it’s whether there is a place for him in the team for the future.

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Here’s a fun fact, if there isn’t a place in the team for him now, then there is even less of a chance that he is going to have a place going forward. Because going forward, Emery will have more flexibility to have more players that he wants and as he is already proving, he doesn’t give a lick about Ozil’s wages – he will exclude him from the squad if he feels like it.

Against Chelsea, we saw a rip-roaring Arsenal side that didn’t miss Ozil in the slightest. In fact, I’d offer the opinion that we wouldn’t have been as effective with Ozil. Ramsey played his part perfectly, and it was his work ethic that propelled him.

So what would change in the future, if anything? Emery isn’t going to change. The way he sets up this team isn’t going to change. Meaning that either Ozil changes or this drama will be an ongoing narrative that we really don’t want to be ongoing.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but what Emery is doing with Ozil isn’t exactly the “wrong” move. There just isn’t a right move in this situation.