Arsenal: Whatever Mesut Ozil’s ending, this isn’t hurting

Wherever Mesut Ozil is headed, whether it be alongside Arsenal or without, what he’s doing now is only going to help him in his next step.

There are so many things to keep in mind when it comes to Mesut Ozil‘s time here at Arsenal, when judging if it has been a success or a failure or somewhere in between, unable to be definitively one or the other.

But whatever the case, we always know what he is capable of, even if he isn’t actively and consistently engaging in it.

For yet another match, Mesut Ozil was flourishing inside of a starting XI that truly complimented his strengths, allowing him to compliment the strengths of those around him. Now, granted, it was a comfortable home match, which has always been the highest likelihood of a walk in the park for him.

For awhile there, it was looking like he was going to be cut loose for a minuscule transfer fee because, let’s be honest, no one was going to pay for a frustrated superstar on the wrong side of 30 without a lot of playing time.

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That is changing in a big way, as Ozil hasn’t just been good in bursts, he has been consistent and reliable in a creative role when nestled into a back three set, either in a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-2-1. It remains to be seen what will happen in a road match, or if he will even be used (and thus, if he’s worth it if he can’t be effective in road matches too), but that isn’t a conversation we need to have now.

What we need to be talking about now is where this is all heading for Ozil. There are two ends in sight – a prolonged stay at the club or a sale this summer. And for the life of me, I can’t tell you one way or the other which seems more likely. It’s a perfect 50/50 split, if I had to guess. This could all be building up his value or it could be a commitment to him being our No. 10 for another few years.

Honestly, right now, none of that matters. Whatever end Ozil is heading towards, whether that end be a new beginning in the Emery era, or whether it is an exit to some new challenge, what he is doing now is only going to help whichever end he is headed towards.

There are seven matches left in the season, and I am, for the first time in ages, excited to see what Ozil can do with each minute he plays.