Arsenal: Mesut Ozil, right where he should be

There is a reason Arsenal’s form has improved of late: Mesut Ozil is playing in the number 10 position, right where he should be. Now, it must continue.

Mesut Ozil. Arsenal’s enigmatic number 10 is playing as a number 10. And guess what? It’s working.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Season in review; Summer window looms

His vision and link-up play are exquisite and, if you watch him carefully, you will see he is almost always open, between the lines, waiting for a pass before Granit Xhaka even gets his head up. Some say he is now at his best but seriously, the 3-1 win over Leicester in October was Ozil truly in full flow.

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The brilliance of the first goal, finding Hector Bellerin before the far bottom corner with that caressed, instep finish off his left foot. And then the assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half strike, running over the ball, receiving the return, and then laying it on a plate. This was the beautiful game at its most beautiful.

And now Arsenal face a tricky run to the end of the season. Five away games in the Premier League. Napoli in the Europa League. Ozil is needed more than ever.

The real test will be Carlo Ancelloti’s Napoli. In the beautiful bay of Naples, with Mount Vesuvius in the not too far distance, life is grand if you are a Napoli fan. Comfortably sitting in second, a Champions League spot all but sewn up, this Napoli team is one of the best in Europe. They will not be an easy out.

Ancelotti has his team fine-tuned with his target of a Europa League victory in his sights. With their focus on the Europa League, I’m sure most Napoli fans are dreaming of their glory years when they had Maradona in his prime. And Ancelotti might just deliver them. They may be missing Lorenzo Insigne for the first leg and defender Vlad Chiriches, but this is a complete team with threats pouring out of every corner. And that is why Ozil is needed more than ever.

Arsenal are unquestionably at their best when Ozil is afforded the freedom to flourish. When his intuition and creativity are championed rather than shunned to the sidelines, the Gunners come alive, the ball fizzing from player to player, with Ozil dictating every element. This truly is his team when he is allowed to master it.

And in recent weeks, he has been afforded such a luxury. He may not be notching the assists of previous seasons, but he was instrumental in crucial wins against Rennes, Manchester United and BATE Borisov, his smoothing, calming influence felt at every level of the team. That is what happens when Ozil is placed right where he should be.

So just let Ozil be Ozil. Let him do what he does best. Because the rest will very quickly follow.