Arsenal: Mesut Ozil and the question of consistency

Mesut Ozil again added a lovely smoothing element to the Arsenal attack in a 30-minute cameo versus Southampton. But now comes the key question: consistency.

It may have only been 27 minutes, but Mesut Ozil looked close to his silky smooth best on Sunday. Introduced shortly after the hour mark, Arsenal’s attacking play immediately improved, fluently progressing through the pitch with dynamism and creativity. And Ozil, predictably, was at the heart of it.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — BATE Borisov and Mesut Ozil fanboys

As is often the case with a good Mesut Ozil performance, it would have been very easy to miss what he provided the team. Little flicks around the corner, delayed passes that suck in defenders and then exploit the space they vacate, intelligent runs off the ball to pull attention away from teammates.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

And speaking after the match, Unai Emery was impressed with what he saw from Ozil, especially considering that this came from off the bench, something that the Arsenal head coach had challenged his star player about:

"“For Mesut Ozil, Sunday was a good challenge, like we spoke about before, to be in the bench and help us like he is doing in the last 30 minutes. It was a good performance with good spirit and I think we are stronger when every player is like that. His combination in the attacking third is important for us.”"

I would agree with all of those comments. Ozil played well and Arsenal looked much more comfortable with his combination play present in the final third.

But now the difficult period comes. Like with his first start since his reinstatement to the team against BATE Borisov, a home match when the Gunners dominate possession is not the match that presents the criticisms of Ozil. Even his harshest doubters would concede that there are few players in the world that are better unpicking a deep-lying, disciplined defence.

The primary slightings regarding Ozil have focused on his performances in the big games and the inconsistency that is born out of them. Would it surprise anybody if he played brilliantly against Bournemouth on Wednesday night only to go completely missing in the north London derby three days later?

The very fact that I am asking that question of a £350,000-a-week player is a sure-fire sign that his production is sketchy at best. If this Ozil is truly a rejuvenated Ozil, and I most certainly hope it is because a rejuvenated Ozil is a wonderful thing for this Arsenal team, then he will have to answer the questions of his performance levels in the big games and his propensity to go missing, the natural inconsistencies that are so detrimentally lurching from game to game.

I am not saying that Ozil will not answer these questions. He might. But they are still to be answered. Playing well against Borisov and then very well against Southampton does not silence his critics. For that, there is still a lot of work to be done.