Arsenal vs Cardiff City: Could this be Mesut Ozil’s last hurrah?

Arsenal are looking more and more like they have no interest in keeping Mesut Ozil, so is Cardiff City his last chance to change their minds?

Arsenal are suddenly buzzing around the January transfer space, looking for potential attacking solutions to the problems that Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitayran have caused in their inconsistency (and injuries). Not to mention Aaron Ramsey leaving at the end of the year.

As of writing, no deals have yet been made official, but a lot can change in very little time. Right this moment, there are talks of sending Mesut Ozil to Inter Milan, paying half his wages to do so, as well we bringing in Ivan Perisic, Christopher Nkunku and/or Denis Suarez. Oh, and Malcom is in the mix too.

There are things happening, and these things all appear to be in reaction to the Ozil situation. All of the players being linked would be seen as direct replacements and, if we get two, you can safely assume that we are covering for Ramsey’s exit as well. Potentially even Mkhitaryan’s.

But given that I am writing this on Monday to be published Tuesday before the match, and no signings have been made prior to the Cardiff City match-up, it’s not unfeasible to think that Ozil will have one last hurrah against the Welsh side, potentially even in the starting XI, if Unai Emery is feeling ballsy (or nostalgic).

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The thing is, I’m not sure this “last hurrah” can save Ozil. This season has been a colossal disappointment for him, following securing the big-money deal. He has found more success playing Fortnite than football and there’s no hiding that him and Emery don’t jive. And, spoiler alert, Emery is going to win that battle.

However, as Cardiff is the last match before the transfer window closes (and before Manchester City), Ozil still could have that one last chance to go out with a bang – to actually prove to be a competitor, which he has failed to get across all season, ever since Emery took over.

And who knows. Maybe, given his statements about proving himself at the club and staying to fight for his place, he will have the chance to secure his stay if he can put in a good showing against Cardiff.

Then again, how many times can we see one good match from Ozil and be fooled into thinking that he has turned a corner?