Arsenal: Emile Smith Rowe for Mesut Ozil the right approach

Freddie Ljungberg substituted Mesut Ozil for 19-year-old Emile Smith Rowe on Sunday. The change symbolises the approach Arsenal should take throughout the remainder of the season.

It was the 59th minute. Mesut Ozil had just fumbled the ball out of play with yet another loose first touch and then trudged his way back into central midfield, unaware of the ensuing Manchester City counter-attack. It was a pattern of play that had become too predictable and repeated for the Arsenal fans in attendance.

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Interim head coach Freddie Ljungberg agreed. He hauled Ozil off the pitch, introducing Emile Smith Rowe in his stead. It was a telling substitution, similar to Unai Emery dragging of the same player for the equally burgeoning Joe Willock once the Europa League final was all but over. And like Willock on that dreadful night, Smith Rowe made more happen in the first five minutes he was on the pitch than Ozil had all game.

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More pertinently than the change it had on the match, however, this was a revealing change regarding Ljungberg’s mindset. After the match, he said he wanted more ‘energy’ from the midfield, which is a tactical excuse for the change, but looking more long term, it is possible that Ljungberg now wants to reward the young players with opportunities to play when the senior starters are underperforming, as Ozil was on Sunday.

If there is one positive to come from this wretched season for Arsenal, it is that they have a bunch of superbly gifted young players coming through, Smith Rowe being a key member of the group. Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson, Willock, Gabriel Martinelli, who started at the weekend in place of Alexandre Lacazette, Matteo Guendouzi, these are players breaking into first-team football who need opportunities to play.

Traditionally, they might struggle to carve out a role for themselves in a top-six team. But in a season that is almost already over, for a squad of proven substandard veteran players that will not be a part of the long-term future of the club, those precious chances to start might be that little be more frequent.

And that is how Arsenal should be approaching the remainder of this campaign. Start Smith Rowe over Ozil. Hand Nelson and Saka minutes out wide. See what Guendouzi and Willock can do together in central midfield. Because these are the players that will take this team forward, for better or worse.

Are Arsenal more likely to win with Ozil in the team instead of Smith Rowe? Yes, they are. But is winning right now the most important goal for the remainder of the season, or should the club now taker a longer-term view and focus on what is to come beyond the end of the campaign. Six months of regular football will certainly help Smith Rowe prepare for first-team football, that is for sure.

Short-term success means little for the club. The focus must move to beyond this season. Substituting Ozil for Smith Rowe is emblematic of such an approach, one that is the right tact for the Gunners during the remainder of the season.