Arsenal Vs Sheffield United: 5 things we learned – Unai Emery out?

2. The Mesut Ozil debate

Unai Emery and Mesut Ozil are not seeing eye-to-eye. Even if the Arsenal head coach may claim that Ozil is working harder in training and there is no problem between them, his persistence of dropping the World Cup winner from matchday squads tells a very different story — and a truer one at that.

Now, I am not an Ozil fan, per se. I understand and agree with Emery’s tactical decisions to omit the German from Arsenal’s starting XI. But when you are chasing a game with clear control of possession, looking to break down a deep-lying and disciplined defence, there are few players with the same creativity and precision in the final third as Ozil.

Arsenal needed Ozil in this instance. With 20 minutes to go, desperately searching for an equaliser, he would have been the perfect substitute to bring on. But instead, he was sat at home in London, watching on the TV. Emery’s plan to get back in the game was to deploy Bukayo Saka in the number 10 position. That tells you everything you need to know.