Arsenal: Mesut Ozil is a dead end that Unai Emery is stuck in

Arsenal are paying Mesut Ozil too much money, and to compile on it, he isn’t playing. But Unai Emery is stuck. There is just nowhere to go.

Arsene Wenger surely thought he was doing his successor a favor by locking Mesut Ozil down to a big-time deal. Arsenal had bought their superstars, they then had to prove that they could retain those superstars as well. Which they did. Only Wenger couldn’t have foreseen the direction this would all go.

Despite his inconsistencies, I don’t think many would have expected him to be as terrible as he has been this year. I mean, he has been terrible. That massive contract that he’s walking around with has become a comical mistake of epic proportions.

And the hardest part about it is that Unai Emery really is stuck in a dead end with nowhere to turn. He has tried so many different things, but the thing is, there is no way to properly handle this situation. You can tell that it’s wearing on him too.

His comments after the United match, when pressed to answer questions about his German superstar, showed that much. He was so annoyed by the fact that Ozil is still there, tying him down.

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Think about all that Emery has tried to do in the months since he joined up regarding Mesut Ozil and you be the judge of if he left anything out.

He tried sticking with him, playing him every match. It didn’t work. He tried sitting him, then gave him a second chance at playing every match. He tried sitting him for a prolonged period, then giving him another chance.

He tried playing him in a No. 10 role, Ozil’s favorite. He tried him in a dual-creative midfield. He tried him out wide. He has given him all the opportunity in the world. And Ozil keeps falling by the wayside to more applicable talent. He doesn’t fit the Emery system, he isn’t good enough, that’s just how it is. But he’s stuck here, so what is Emery supposed to do? Especially in the face of a voracious media corps that is never going to let a single moment sans Ozil pass them by without questioning?

The only thing Emery hasn’t done is the one thing he can’t do – build the team around Ozil. Conform to his needs. Because that is not what this team needs. Not even close.