Mesut Ozil In Arsenal – A Bad Buy Or A Misused Player

The closing part of summer 2013 saw many Arsenal fans celebrating after their club captured one of the best creative midfielders in the world of football but the €50 million attacking midfielder have struggled to get going in the club since his arrival in Arsenal over 12 months ago. Many Arsenal fans are frustrated with his work ethics on the pitch and his recent below – par performance against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA champions league added more salt to the injury. It is obvious fans want more than what Mesut Ozil is presently giving but it’s unknown if the playmaker is struggling with the system in the English Premier League or Arsenal as a whole with the later been the most probable. Mesut Ozil has failed to come to consistent run of form since he made the move from Real Madrid and there are questions whether he was a gamble for Arsene Wenger.

In all sincerity, Mesut Ozil did quite well in his first few appearances for the gunners proving to be a missing link in the Arsenal team. His arrival may not have directly given them a trophy after a long wait but he won the FA cup with the team in his first season and helped Arsenal end their trophy drought. Some argued the intensity of the league drew Ozil’s form out of him and to accept the fact that he was involved in the world cup for one month is also a tenable excuse but it’s clear Mesut is not at his best. Leading to whether fatigue or team style iss the cause. Ozil is not the only player playing in this league who went to the world cup and fatigue is not an excuse rather the manager’s style and management of the player should be questioned.

Arsene Wenger believes he can spend another €50 million on Mesut Ozil if asked to and insisted his team is to play together as he is not interested in a player trying to show individual display. Arsene has done well as a manager for Arsenal and even for Ozil by defending him publicly but I am of the opinion that he made a mistake while building his team for the season. Accepting the fact that Ozil came in late in summer 2013, Arsenal had a whole year to build the team around him just like Real Madrid did under Mourinho. In an Arsenal formation that will want to accommodate Ozil, Wilshere, Arteta, Ramsey, Sanchez; Mesut can only be played on either the left or right flanks which is certainly not his best positions. It is clear Ozil has low work ethics on the pitch and won’t do all the marking you want and a role just behind a potent striker will make him work perfectly for Arsenal. Wenger may have thought of this but the decision to drop either Wilshere, Arteta or Ramsey and buy a solid defensive midfielder to cover may not be an easy decision to make for the manager.

Ozil’s performances at the world cup showed how much he is struggling playing out of position. He was the “Zidane” of Germany but his recent form pushed him from a role behind the striker to the right wing where his impact was not really felt with Thomas Muller or Mario Gotze preferred to playing that role in the German squad.

Ozil is a good purchase for Arsenal but the right formation must be in place for his to perform well. He may be versatile to a certain extent but he is not effective in some positions and he will come good if things are done the right way.