Arsenal: Mesut Ozil can make Unai Emery look like a genius

Unai Emery made a bold choice regarding Mesut Ozil’s involvement at Arsenal, but it may pay off in a big way, making him the genius.

It wasn’t all that long ago that fans were calling out to each other to takes sides. You couldn’t just be a fan of Arsenal anymore, you had to choose either Mesut Ozil or Unai Emery. “Who would you rather leave the club, RT for Emery, like for Ozil” was making the rounds on Twitter.

It didn’t look good. I even pointed out that I didn’t see a way forward for Ozil at this club, and pondered how the summer transfer window would be navigated to make up for this fact – if we would replace him or just plan to work around him.

Now, things are changing. And they are changing in a way that can be massive for Unai Emery, and end up vindicating him in a big way.

It couldn’t have been an easy choice to make when he set off this year clearly not picking favorites. Mesut Ozil, the highest paid player on the team by quite some way, had to earn his way into the team as well and Emery took a hard line.

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He was not happy with Ozil’s output and, unlike Arsene Wenger, he was willing to do something about it. There was a lot of irritation, frustration and tension between these two, hence the ‘choose a side!’ narrative that sprung up, and the debates over how we could best get rid of the German maestro.

But through it all, we’ve now emerged in the final months of the season with Ozil pulling his weight. For two straight matches, he has been the crucial No. 10 in a 3-5-2 system that has allowed him to flex his muscle. And he didn’t do it in just any other game, he did it against Manchester United and again in an elimination situation against Rennes.

That’s a big deal, and it came mere months after we were all ruling out Ozil’s future. It’s almost like Emery had a plan all along. he dug his heels in, asserted his vision on the club, and if Ozil wanted to adjust for the club that he loved, that was his business.

He did adjust. We’re all benefiting. And guess what? None of this would have happened if Emery would have caved. He is getting the best out of Ozil for the strictness he employed. Genius.