Arsenal: Unai Emery or Mesut Ozil? Simple, neither

Since Unai Emery has taken charge of Arsenal, he and Mesut Ozil haven’t got along. Supporters have been forced to pick their side, but the answer to the conundrum is actually neither.

It is certainly fair to say that neither Unai Emery nor Mesut Ozil have exactly covered themselves in glory throughout the Spaniard’s head coaching tenure at Arsenal. Emery’s stubbornness regarding his star playmaker has rubbed many the wrong way, while Ozil’s lack of willingness to adapt to Emery’s ideologies have done the same.

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Both seem to be acting quite childishly. And as a result, Arsenal fans have been left in a precarious position where they are expected to choose sides between Ozil and Emery. Are you in favor of a manager who does not see any redeeming qualities in a clearly talented and capable footballer, or are you in favor of a well-regarded attacking midfielder who is completely unwilling to do what his manager expects of him?

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Despite Emery coming under a fair bit of controversy as of late, there is still no doubt about one thing: as much as Ozil may hate it, Emery is his boss. For how long is obviously still to be determined, but nonetheless, the German’s lack of respect towards his boss has depicted the famous number 10 as extremely unprofessional.

I have defended Emery this season but my patience is starting to wear thin. However, the manner in which Ozil is carrying himself in the current civil war is nothing short of an embarassment. Tweeting, ‘you make me laugh’ as a relatively blatant dig towards your manager is quite reminiscent of something a belligerent and rebellious teenger would do. It shows a great deal of unprofessionalism. And yet, despite his childish, immature behviour, Ozil is not the only individual at fault for the current dispute. Emery’s handling of the situation must also bare some responsibility.

Emery freezed out several players during his PSG tenure. He handled heated moments poorly. Hatem Ben Arfa has been particularly critical of his former manager, although his attitude should also be questioned, while Emery handled the penalty dispute between Edinson Cavani and Neymar horribly and did practically nothing to resolve the issue. He merely tried to sweep it under the rug and act as though it never happened. To this day, the relationship between Neymar and Cavani seems to be somewhat bitter.

So when Emery first arrived at Arsenal, it seemed as though he was going to rule with an iron fist. He notably hooked Ozil off against Chelsea in the 65th minute, his second competitive game in charge. It finally seemed as though somebody was going to whip Ozil into shape or drop him if he did not respond.

However, Ozil eventually found himself back in the squad and he even started in the Europa League final, where he was also substituted after a painfully lacklustre performance. Emery’s lack of conviction has contributed to him losing the faith and respect of many his players. It certainly has done so for a large portion of Arsenal supporters. And now the fans are faced with an impasse: an underperforming manager who lacks clarity, conviction and identity fueding with an underperforming player who lacks professionalism, commitment and production.

Neither Emery nor Ozil have carried themselves well throughout this entire, petulant dispute. The fact that supporters are being divided once again indicates to me, that if the question, is Emery or Ozil, the answer, is neither.