Ozil - Do we need him?

[mastermind84]

Coming from the man that says scoring goals is overrated and it’s down to luck. Welbeck must have broken his fair share of mirrors to be that unlucky.

It is. A player just has to be in a position to score a lot of times. That's the talent.

Welbeck is never in position to score, he is useless as an attacker.

I don't think Ozil was really poor but easily our best?

I'm going with Ox. In the first half he should have had three assists. One pass over the top for Welbeck that was hit straight at the keeper. Another over the top for Ramsey that was saved and the pass the pass to Bellerin that should have won us a penalty.

You like Oxlade because he runs hard. He never actually does anything.

Ozil had like 118 touches and created 4 chances and only misplaced 5 passes on Saturday, yet Kroenke and Gerrard, the clowns you are citing and praising for their thorough analysis, are mad he did not run more.

Stuff like that is why England will never win. The country's brain trust loves busy bodies.

[Power n Glory]

It is. A player just has to be in a position to score a lot of times. That's the talent.

Welbeck is never in position to score, he is useless as an attacker.


You like Oxlade because he runs hard. He never actually does anything.

Ozil had like 118 touches and created 4 chances and only misplaced 5 passes on Saturday, yet Kroenke and Gerrard, the clowns you are citing and praising for their thorough analysis, are mad he did not run more.

Stuff like that is why England will never win. The country's brain trust loves busy bodies.

If you watched the game you’d see that Welbeck has probably had about 5 or 6 chances to score. His understanding as a striker and movement is piss poor but with the luck he’s had getting in the right position so often, it’s amazing he fluffs his lines so often. Again, I have no idea if you’re watching football or even if you get coverage where you’re from, but you’re missing how many times he fucks it up. Finishing isn’t down to luck.

This chance creation stat is what I also find funny. People tend to rattle it off every time we speak of Ozil. Outside of the chance he created for Bellerin, show me a chance he created that lead to a clear goal scoring opportunity that the striker fluffed their lines for. I mention Ox because he created 3 of our best opportunities to score. One for Welbeck, one for Ramsey and the other for Bellerin which should have won us a penalty. Not a huge fan of Ox. Very inconsistent but credit where it’s due.

But back to chance creation. You do realise that a chance creation counts as for any pass that leads to a shot on goal ; on or off target. So for example, even if Ozil does a sideways pass to a player outside the box that then decides to blaze it from 35 yards well over the bar, that counts as a chance created. Even if he passes it to a player crowed by defenders and the shot gets blocked, that’s counted as a chance created. It says nothing of the quality. The best chance Ozil created is the one that fell to Bellerin that resulted in a tame shot straight to the keeper. What were the other 3 chances he created? Did I miss them?

As said, Ox created a lot that should have at least put as ahead in the first half. Giroud created two really good chances when he came on. That one for Welbeck where he miskicked the ball when surrounded by defenders and the one ruled Lacazette laced in but was ruled offside. Even Monreal created a chance for Giroud with that header in the final minutes.

Also, it’s NQ that seems obsessed with what pundits have to say about Ozil. I’m not praising them or even care what they have to say. I prefer to hearing opinions of fans that actually watch football. I’ll give an example.

[Power n Glory]

Read this some weeks back. Not far off from what I've said here last year. I'd also say it's worth listening the latest Arsenal Vision Podcast that Stillman features on. Breaks down the dynamic between Xhaka, Ozil and Ramsey perfectly.

Everybody Hates Özil
Tim Stillman
July 27, 2017


Arsenal’s summer has been dominated by the dual contract sagas of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Özil. The situation of the former has ignited far more debate, rumour and innuendo than the latter. With Alexis involved in Confederations Cup duty, the man himself has literally been a high resolution presence in Arsenal’s summer at times.

Meanwhile, Mesut Özil’s contract is also in the 12 month red zone, yet the level of water cooler talk around his future has been considerably quieter. Özil was spared Confederations Cup duty with Germany and took a holiday in the US. Ordinarily, this would be an opportune time for a player and his representatives to begin wafting the smoke of transfer rumour- either as an act of leverage, or because they genuinely want to find a new club.

The differing level of noise around the Gunners’ blockbuster duo reflects their on pitch personas. Alexis is all hustle, bustle and brow sweat. Whilst Özil is an ephemeral, almost ghostly presence on the margins of the game. His USP is to creep unnoticed into nooks and crannies of space. Alexis’ situation is very much centre stage, whilst Özil’s is silent, lurking, but still undoubtedly there. It all feels very familiar.

The German is at the clutch phase of his current deal, he is a 28-year old World Cup winner and one of the first names on the teamsheet for the German national team. So why hasn’t there been more transfer speculation? The simplest answer seems to be that he has not generated an awful lot of interest- especially as he is reportedly holding out for a salary of around £300,000 a week.

Özil turns 29 in October and his next contract will be the last optimal deal he can expect in his career. The chance of sharp physical decline any time soon seems unlikely, given his style. Mesut’s game is built on appreciation of space, a quality which, if anything, ought to enhance as he approaches his 30s.

Mesut’s wage demands might be giving teams cause to back off at this point in time, but he knows full well that £300,000 a week which be much more agreeable to his suitors if they do not have to pay a transfer fee. So his negotiating hand remains pretty strong, even if Arsenal could point to an apparent lack of interest as reason to rebuff his estimation of his own worth.

But why is there such a lack of interest in an elite player in his prime years? I think the most obvious reason is tactical. The reality is that few teams play with a pure number 10 in Özil’s mould at the moment. Teams often adopt hard working advanced midfielders that harry and press the opponent’s deep lying midfielders, much like Christian Eriksen at Spurs. Eriksen is a creator, but he serves an important off ball function too.

Or else, top teams tend to play with fairly tight midfield 3s, with one slightly advanced runner whose job is to arrive in the box late and finish off moves. Arsenal already have one of these in Aaron Ramsey, but his Gunners career has, arguably, been stunted by the presence of a pure trequartista like Mesut Özil. The German is a player that would not easily fit into any of Europe’s elite teams at the moment, given their shape and structure.

Özil has proven tough for Arsene to accommodate at Arsenal. He has largely played at the head of a midfield three, but his desire to drift away from the ball to find space means he often disconnects himself from the other central midfield players. Özil is not the most rigorous defensively, so he does not exactly sprint back to support them and his pressing game from the front is not especially fastidious.

At the beginning of Özil’s second season at Arsenal, Wenger briefly moved him out to the left, before the player and his representatives planted several stories in the press suggesting that he was unsatisfied with the role. The signing of Özil brought the curtain down on the era of austerity and once again Wenger found himself handling elite talents, which can be tricky when trying to create a functioning collective.

Diaby and Denilson don’t really complain when you put them out on the wing for a couple of games. A talent like Mesut Özil is a little more high maintenance. Playing Mesut in his natural position obviously ekes the best out of him and it keeps him out of the newspapers, but it carries a debt of sorts. Other clubs will have observed this and wonder whether it is worth the hassle of reimagining their setup to mould it in his image. Not dissimilar to Cesc Fabregas, whom Barcelona and Chelsea have sacrificed during his spells at each club.

That said, Bayern’s decision to sign James Rodriguez from Real Madrid was curious. James’ best position, like Özil, is as a pure number 10. The Colombian gave Madrid a tactical problem they could not solve. With Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo already in the forward line, they could not play a true number 10 as well without significantly upsetting the balance.

Since benching James and introducing defensive midfielder Casemiro in his stead, Real have toppled Barca in Spain and in Europe. Bayern do not play with an obvious number 10, so their interest in James is curious and suggests they may be entertaining a change of shape (or else they may give him a wider starting point). But it still begs the question as to why Bayern opted for James ahead of Özil.

There is still a suggestion that Mesut remains mercurial, he drifts in and out of form as often as he drifts in and out of games. (This, by the way, was also true of Dennis Bergkamp, who had more quiet periods than nostalgia permits us to remember). Özil is a creative and inspiration can be a fickle mistress, it can elude you for months at a time.

It could be that Özil’s periods of ‘writer’s block’ make him a risky acquisition for elite clubs. He doesn’t seem to have inspired any sort of interest from Manchester City, who already have David Silva, or Chelsea, who have handed out all of their creative licensing to Eden Hazard. Manchester United still struggle to carve out a niche for Juan Mata.

Barca and Real have the sort of front threes that require little in the manner of assistance. Besides which, their respective shapes could not withstand the liberty of another player free from defensive duties. As mentioned, Bayern have just acquired James Rodriguez. So Özil’s situation looks deadlocked, unless he breaks the current impasse by signing a new contract, which he suggested recently he would like to do.

Maybe Özil’s intention has always been to stay at Arsenal and he and his representatives have therefore simply not courted interest from others and planted stories to that effect. But even if that’s the case, he is clearly trying to juice the club for more generous terms and it’s unusual not to use the interest of others to that end.

Anecdotally, Mesut does seem more likely to commit than Alexis and if the Chilean leaves, Arsenal are over a barrel when it comes to the German’s demands. They simply cannot afford to lose both of their star players on Bosman deals, at the very least the sting of losing one will need to be soothed by the balm of new terms for the other. I suspect Özil’s future will not be resolved until Alexis’ is and the club have no wiggle room left in the thumb war of negotiation.

[Niall_Quinn]

If you watched the game you’d see that Welbeck has probably had about 5 or 6 chances to score. His understanding as a striker and movement is piss poor but with the luck he’s had getting in the right position so often, it’s amazing he fluffs his lines so often. Again, I have no idea if you’re watching football or even if you get coverage where you’re from, but you’re missing how many times he fucks it up. Finishing isn’t down to luck.

This chance creation stat is what I also find funny. People tend to rattle it off every time we speak of Ozil. Outside of the chance he created for Bellerin, show me a chance he created that lead to a clear goal scoring opportunity that the striker fluffed their lines for. I mention Ox because he created 3 of our best opportunities to score. One for Welbeck, one for Ramsey and the other for Bellerin which should have won us a penalty. Not a huge fan of Ox. Very inconsistent but credit where it’s due.

But back to chance creation. You do realise that a chance creation counts as for any pass that leads to a shot on goal ; on or off target. So for example, even if Ozil does a sideways pass to a player outside the box that then decides to blaze it from 35 yards well over the bar, that counts as a chance created. Even if he passes it to a player crowed by defenders and the shot gets blocked, that’s counted as a chance created. It says nothing of the quality. The best chance Ozil created is the one that fell to Bellerin that resulted in a tame shot straight to the keeper. What were the other 3 chances he created? Did I miss them?

As said, Ox created a lot that should have at least put as ahead in the first half. Giroud created two really good chances when he came on. That one for Welbeck where he miskicked the ball when surrounded by defenders and the one ruled Lacazette laced in but was ruled offside. Even Monreal created a chance for Giroud with that header in the final minutes.

Also, it’s NQ that seems obsessed with what pundits have to say about Ozil. I’m not praising them or even care what they have to say. I prefer to hearing opinions of fans that actually watch football. I’ll give an example.

This gets more bizarre by the posting. This thread was dead until Gerrard and Keown opened their stereotypical and subservient traps. They are the sorts obsessing on Ozil by regurgitating the lazy and entirely unfounded media narrative started by Ashton and his cohorts the moment Ozil arrived at Arsenal. To respond is to obsess, it seems. We expect shit from the media hacks, of course. But it's sad to see Arsenal fans lapping it up.

[Niall_Quinn]

Read this some weeks back. Not far off from what I've said here last year. I'd also say it's worth listening the latest Arsenal Vision Podcast that Stillman features on. Breaks down the dynamic between Xhaka, Ozil and Ramsey perfectly.

An article rife with contradictions and speculation. Although the author at least accepts there may be various sides to the story other than lazy, stealing a living, won't run. Perhaps he reviewed the evidence before he started typing, which is more that can be said for the lazy turds hamfisting together the daily sports sections or the poor fools who read it and believe it. For instance, perhaps Bayern "chose" Rodriguez over Ozil because Madrid said yes, he's for sale, and Arsenal said, no way, fuck off.

[Power n Glory]

This gets more bizarre by the posting. This thread was dead until Gerrard and Keown opened their stereotypical and subservient traps. They are the sorts obsessing on Ozil by regurgitating the lazy and entirely unfounded media narrative started by Ashton and his cohorts the moment Ozil arrived at Arsenal. To respond is to obsess, it seems. We expect shit from the media hacks, of course. But it's sad to see Arsenal fans lapping it up.

I follow off the reaction on Twitter more than anything else. I only did the emoji because I said the same thing last year.

I’ve seen a lot of talk of Ozil checking out early for the season and looking for the exit but do we really want him here if that’s the case? I’m usually on side with the players when it comes to this sort of issue but not in this case. I don’t think Ozil has done anything to warrant such high praise.

People point to what he did last season as proof of his quality but I’m still not convinced. After Christmas he checked out for the rest of the season. When I compare that purple patch/run of good form with other players, such as Ramsey 2013/14 season (34 games, 16 goals, 10 assists) or even Theo’s run (43 games, 21 goals, 16 assists), I’d take either of those guys replicating that form over Ozil’s 45 games, 8 goals and 20 assists.

Maybe he’s hung over from the Euros and needs to get up to speed but it’s disheartening to see us play games without Giroud and have all out pace up front and he’s not threading anyone through. His influence on the game has to extend beyond one decent pass. The chances he’s creating aren’t even killer through balls that sets us up with chance after chance. Heck, against Southampton the stats will say he created 4 chances but not one of those were clear cut one on ones. I really don’t rate him as a playmaker and won’t lose any sleep if he leaves. He’s not essential and I’ll have to see a massive improvement to think otherwise.

Despite having a more clinical striker up front, I've yet to see Ozil thread him through and it was the same last season when we swapped out Giroud for players with more pace. We can live without Ozil in the team. Sanchez is more important. Same as what I said last season. Arsenal Fan TV ran a poll and it was almost 50/50 for people that wanted Ozil to stay over him being sold.

[Power n Glory]

An article rife with contradictions and speculation. Although the author at least accepts there may be various sides to the story other than lazy, stealing a living, won't run. Perhaps he reviewed the evidence before he started typing, which is more that can be said for the lazy turds hamfisting together the daily sports sections or the poor fools who read it and believe it. For instance, perhaps Bayern "chose" Rodriguez over Ozil because Madrid said yes, he's for sale, and Arsenal said, no way, fuck off.

I think the article and the key points went over your head.

[Niall_Quinn]

I think the article and the key points went over your head.

That must be it. I'm simply failing to spot Stillman's pearls hidden in the hacking and hoofing.

[Niall_Quinn]

I follow off the reaction on Twitter more than anything else. I only did the emoji because I said the same thing last year.



Despite having a more clinical striker up front, I've yet to see Ozil thread him through and it was the same last season when we swapped out Giroud for players with more pace. We can live without Ozil in the team. Sanchez is more important. Same as what I said last season. Arsenal Fan TV ran a poll and it was almost 50/50 for people that wanted Ozil to stay over him being sold.

Thus proving that an increasing number of people prefer to let the media do their thinking for them. There's not a shred of evidence to support what the media claims regarding Ozil, but if you repeat the lie enough times then weak minded individuals will endorse it. With Alexis on the way out, Wenger refusing to spend as usual and the prestige of this club slipping deeper into the shitter on a weekly basis, of course it would be a great idea to get rid of Ozil. Those 49% (if we want to dispense with "almost") are geniuses.

[mastermind84]

If you watched the game you’d see that Welbeck has probably had about 5 or 6 chances to score. His understanding as a striker and movement is piss poor but with the luck he’s had getting in the right position so often, it’s amazing he fluffs his lines so often. Again, I have no idea if you’re watching football or even if you get coverage where you’re from, but you’re missing how many times he fucks it up. Finishing isn’t down to luck.

The best strikers in the world convert about 25% of their chances.

When I say luck. I dont mean a ball of the shin and it goes in type of luck. I mean, the conditions have to be ideal. You of course have to have hte composure to put the ball in the net, but a lot of stuff is out of the goal scorers hands. That is all I mean.

Welbeck doesnt have any composure and is poor technically. That is why he will never be a goalscorer.

We would see matches at 6-5. 8-7, etc of it was just bang-bang its in.

This chance creation stat is what I also find funny. People tend to rattle it off every time we speak of Ozil. Outside of the chance he created for Bellerin, show me a chance he created that lead to a clear goal scoring opportunity that the striker fluffed their lines for. I mention Ox because he created 3 of our best opportunities to score. One for Welbeck, one for Ramsey and the other for Bellerin which should have won us a penalty. Not a huge fan of Ox. Very inconsistent but credit where it’s due.

But back to chance creation. You do realise that a chance creation counts as for any pass that leads to a shot on goal ; on or off target. So for example, even if Ozil does a sideways pass to a player outside the box that then decides to blaze it from 35 yards well over the bar, that counts as a chance created. Even if he passes it to a player crowed by defenders and the shot gets blocked, that’s counted as a chance created. It says nothing of the quality. The best chance Ozil created is the one that fell to Bellerin that resulted in a tame shot straight to the keeper. What were the other 3 chances he created? Did I miss them?

Off the top of my head, Ozil created a chance for Bellerin on the left and set up Welbeck with an open header in front of goal. That both those guys couldnt finish is not an indictment on Ozil, yet you decided to make it that. Both took place inside the penalty area. He also had one from a corner. So idk why the 35 yard thing is mentioned when that was not the case on Saturday and where most of Ozil's work is inside hte final 3rd, and its effing Arsenal where Wenger doesnt allow players to take shots that far out.