Arsenal: Mesut Ozil Champions League hopes reflect Arteta effect

Mesut Ozil has recently spoken out about Arsenal’s improvement under Mikel Arteta, as well as his belief that the club can still finish in the top four, and qualify for Champions League. He is doing everything right.

Mesut Ozil has been far more talkative than normal during the winter break. He spoke out about Mikel Arteta’s influence on Arsenal, and what he believes this squad can accomplish come May—a Champions League spot. He also commented on his role at the club with his contract winding down. The German is doing everything he can to bolster the spirits of the fans, and should be commended.

Ozil talked to The National’s Jon MacAuley about his role at the club, and his words are telling.

"“After this season I have one more year, so after that I will know because I can’t see the future. The thing I can do is give everything for the team, for myself, to be successful and let’s see what happens.”“What I know is that I will give everything for this club, for my teammates. We’ve had a difficult season, but we want to win games again, to take points, to maybe be in the top four at the end of the season.”““Our goal is to be in Champions League. This year we had difficult times, but I think we’re in a good way”"

His goals are admirable, and his worst enemy in completing them is himself, which is frightening.  Ozil has never been able to change as a player, despite his constant want to do better and influence the team and its success, something he has reiterated repeatedly over his North London career. And as his contract winds down, the German has committed himself, yet again, to the team he loves until he leaves, and that commitment is reassuring.

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And his want for Champions League football, while not unique to him, is similarly reassuring. The 31-year-old is likely to leave soon, with links to the Turkish league and now DC United pouring in. But he wants the best for the team, and as one of the veterans in the squad, he has the opportunity to lead them to a far higher position than most fans are expecting them to finish.

However, while his words about the future can make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside, they also need backing and proof. And that’s where Mikel Arteta comes in. Ozil’s words about Arteta establish the possibility, firmly and definitively, of Champions League football. Here’s what he had to say about the Spaniard, per DailyMail and Gill Clark of Bleacher Report.

"“Everyone knows, even the players – let’s say that after 60 or 70 minutes, if that player’s changing, everyone knows now in which position they have to play or how [the manager] wants to attack or make a lot of pressure on the opposite team. This kind of stuff. Fighting and having possession, being in control of the game, having the ball all the time.”‘These are the things that he is working on with us and you can see it — everyone is smiling, laughing, enjoying their time — it has made us successful. We have to believe in ourselves, believe in us as a team, to do what the coach wants. We’re in a good way; you see it as well on the pitch, everyone enjoys, everyone is happy. As a player, you have to be happy to give everything on the pitch“So, right now, everybody knows tactically that we’re improving. It’s just two months that Mikel has been here, and we have improved a lot tactically. Of course, now it’s hard times for us. It’s difficult to say because right now everything is not going well, but we know if everything is going well, if the confidence is back and if we take the right results, we will end in the top four, in the top five.”“I think he is the right man at this club.”"

Not only has Arteta changed the club, but everyone knows he has. The players, the staff, the backroom, they’ve all been captured by the spirit and drive of the Spaniard. His tactics have totally changed our play, and even amid frustrating times, we just need a confidence boost. Ozil himself said that this winter break, and Arteta’s effect, might just be that boost.

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There are two kinds of a happy player. Unai Emery’s training sessions, per Arsenal Media, appeared more as fun and games than real training. And the players were always laughing and cracking smiles, but that all changed once we started losing. It became a joke.

Now they’ve started laughing again, but it’s because, according to Ozil, they’re happy because they believe they can improve, and start winning again, and that comes down to Arteta’s management of the team. You have to be happy to give everything, and if the oft-lackadaisical Mesut Ozil is willing to do that, then I’m sold. Arteta is our king.

And the workrate is clearly visible too. Hector Bellerin stated clearly that the Dubai training camp was not a vacation, but a time to work and improve and come back hungrier. This mentality will be key approaching our fixtures against Newcastle and Everton, two sides in very good form.

Champions League football is still an option. Mathematically yes, and in the heart of every Arsenal fan, yes, but especially through the mouths of the players themselves. They believe they can achieve this goal. And so they have a chance.