Arsenal: Mesut Ozil must be extracted

Mesut Ozil has now been at Arsenal for six years. After his worst season at the club with Unai Emery growing frustrated, it is time for him to be extracted.

After what has been a disappointing end to the season, the talk among Arsenal circles has centred on how the squad can move forward, in particular, what players could and should be sold. And, after his childish reaction to being rightly substituted in the Europa League final, Mesut Ozil’s name has risen to the top of the pile. According to a recent Sky Sports’ survey, 87% of fans agree it is time he moved on.

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I am fully aware that this article will probably get a backlash with people defending Ozil, but over the last couple of seasons, no player has divided opinion more.

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I was a supporter of Ozil up until he received a new £350,0000-a-week contract. Ever since that point, his performances have justified earning about a quarter of that. Anonymous, inept and disinterested are just some of the terms I would use to describe Ozil in the last 18 months.

Before that, we fans had pretty much figured out that Ozil wasn’t a big-game player, such was his tendency to disappear on the big occasions. But Ozil still managed to turn it on against the smaller teams and fans loved him for it. The panache and beauty of his style was enticing, almost trapping fans into believing again, before his lacklustre attitude let them down again.

This season was Ozil’s worst at the club. He contributed just three assists all year, that’s one fewer than Alexis Sanchez. But some fans will not have a bad word said against Ozil, believing him to be world class and putting him in the same league as players like Kevin de Bruyne just because he can play a killer ball against the likes of Leicester.

I define a world-class player as someone who can turn up week in and week out and lift the team to another level, someone like Cristiano Ronaldo or Eden Hazard or Lionel Messi. Ozil has the ability to do this, but only seems to be able to when he feels like it. Instead, when the team is struggling, he disappears.

His reaction to being substituted in the Europa Final was the cherry on the cake of what has been a total shambles of a season. And to hammer the point home, his replacement, 19-year-old Joe Willock, offered more in 15 minutes than Ozil did in 77.

I’m not saying Ozil isn’t a talented player. He most certainly is. But, regretably, his attitude doesn’t match his ability and you could make an argument that he does not care for the club, just the wage that slides into pocket every week. It makes a mockery of the fact Arsenal have gotten rid of Aaron Ramsey who is twice the professional that Ozil is. This summer, getting Ozil off the wage bill and out the team should be a major priority. I think Unai Emery is already privy to that fact and hopefully is already making headway ahead of a proposed sale.

When Arsenal signed Mesut Ozil in August 2013, I believed that they were getting a player who would carry them to the next level, competing for the top prizes in world football. Instead, the Mesut Ozil that arrived is one in decline. After 6 years, I think it’s time for both parties to cut their losses and start afresh.