Arsenal vs Everton: Is it time to roll the dice on Mesut Ozil?

Arsenal need to prove they can do what they do at home, on the road. But there isn’t all that they can change, so is it time to roll the dice on Mesut Ozil?

There are going to be plenty of nerves going around prior to Arsenal‘s kickoff against Everton. Not because Everton are a particularly difficult match, but because every away match has become a particularly difficult match.

With several positive home results powering a good string of momentum, it’s crucial to the final streak of the season to prove that it’s not the same old story – strength at home, weakness away.

That might require a change to the away approach. Unai Emery has been pretty consistent in his formational choices in one key aspect – defense. At home, he’s been reliably going with a back three set-up to let his team overpower their visitors.

That hasn’t worked on the road, which has been the back four set, with varying up field mish-mashes, whether it be a 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. But one theme of those away matches has been that Mesut Ozil is rarely a part.

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Mostly because there isn’t always a place to put him. The 4-3-3 has been the go-to, and that 100% excludes Ozil, because it requires those wingers to track back and assist on the defense, which is why Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi are preferred. Because they will and Ozil won’t.

But there are some out there who think the solution is to trust Ozil to take his form onto the road. Which is dicey, to say the least.

That would require going with a formation that allows Ozil to play in that No. 10 role. Which could be the 4-2-3-1, Arsene Wenger’s favorite, but that would involve playing Aubameyang on the wings or on the bench.

The big question, though, is if you trust Ozil enough to invest the spot in him. And that’s a big ask, because it requires a leap of faith at a time that you don’t really have the luxury of making one.

Personally, I’d prefer you just start Mkhitaryan and Iwobi together again. Mkhitaryan is in fantastic form and we’ve simply forgotten about it while the three-back has been in power, letting Ozil take the reigns.

It’ll be curious to see what Emery does, if he trusts his home set-up enough to take it on the road as well, or if he’ll stick with mixing things up on the road.