Arsenal: Mesut Ozil vs. Unai Emery

Mesut Ozil has been dropped from three successive matchday squads and is not remotely in consideration at Arsenal. Whatever may be said otherwise, it is Mesut Ozil vs. Unai Emery.

Mesut Ozil is a star, on and off the pitch. He brings with him an array of fans worldwide and Arsenal banks on him as their most-marketable asset as his shirts and Adidas merchandise rake in millions of pounds every year. But there is something peculiar going on behind the scenes.

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Just a year and a half after becoming the club’s highest-paid player, the German playmaker is seemingly being forced out of the Emirates by the new head coach, Unai Emery. He barely featured in half of Arsenal’s games last season, while this year, he has played just 142 minutes of football in all competitions. A part of the fan base has called Emery’s treatment of Ozil ‘disrespectful’, while the others seem to concur with the Spaniard.

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So, what triggered this fall from grace for Arsene Wenger’s favourite player? Well, Ozil has not produced as he should have — or as his wage demands. While he is still one of the more creative players in the team, his goal and assist numbers have decreased with every passing game and his overall influence on matches has waned as well.

But Emery is partly to blame here as well. He still seemingly does not know his best XI or a preferred formation, especially when it comes to getting the best out of Ozil. Emery has predominantly used a 3-4-3, a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 at the Emirates, subsequently leaving no room for Ozil to play in his preferred number 10 role, the position where he is most effective and most comfortable playing.

However, when Emery has played a 4-2-3-1 this season, he has picked both Joe Willock and Dani Ceballos, who has been in London for barely two months and is more of a central midfielder than an attacking one. One reason for this is that both Willock and Ceballos are much more hardworking, dynamic and youthful than Ozil. They bring a distinct energy whenever they are present on the field, something that Ozil does not. This is Emery’s greatest problem with his star player.

Subsequently, Arsenal tried to sell the 30-year-old but his monstrous wages and declining stature means that no club was willing to take a punt on him. The only way that he might leave now would be on a temporary loan, in which the Gunners pay a part of his wages. Not ideal.

The other option is to use him, and going by Arsenal’s recent displays, where they have failed to break down defences and look dull due to the evident lack of creativity in midfield, many fans have rallied for Ozil to be brought back into the squad and at least keep him on the bench, if not start him. Say what you will, on his day, Ozil is a terrific footballer, one of the premier creators in European football, but great performances from him seem to be rare nowadays. That type of player is worth keeping on the bench.

In the end, this seems to be a classic manager vs. player situation. Emery has used Ozil’s languid style lacking work rate as a reason to doubt; Ozil’s quality perhaps says otherwise. There is an impasse here, one that only one will survive.

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It seems that there is no way into the squad for Ozil while Emery remains as head coach. For now, that means Ozil must bow to his manager’s demands. But it is not inconceivable that he could yet outlast the oft-criticised coach. Will Ozil manage to outlast Emery at the club or will the Spaniard be successful in pushing him out of the Emirates? I guess we will have to wait and see.

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