Ozil - Do we need him?

[Power n Glory]

My criticism of Wenger doesn't absolve the players.

Notice how you bypassed what you said about Cesc not covering the distance and defensive weakness. Numbers don't lie. You wouldn't argue Ozil's purchase has improved us defensively so it's not a great point to make to be honest. Stats show he's worse than Cesc.

Fact is, most people on here have no problem rounding on Giroud, Ramsey or Walcott but cut Ozil way too much slack because he's gifted technically and he has the world class label. The talk about him needing the right sort of players around him can be applied to most of the misfits in our squad. But what makes Ozil stand out for me is that he's gifted enough to do what all the others can't. He's not starved of service and not a limited player where he can't be more productive. Do I have to bring up those Real Madrid videos of him dribbling past players and using his pace? But against Spurs he didn't attempt a single take on.

It's the same thing revealed in his book when Mourinho pinned him up. I don't know why most people accept a fraction of his talent when he's capable of so much more. It doesn't all fall on the manager. If he's using every trick in his arsenal, but keeps on coming up short, fair enough. But he doesn't. That's what makes the criticism different to how I criticise a player like Giroud, Theo or Ramsey. We all know Giroud isn't suited to the tika taka short pass and move game. Physically, he's incapable of playing that way. It's not a case of lacking desire or commitment. Same goals for Walcott with not being able to dribble on the wings or Ramsey taking a heavy touch or screwing up a pass. With Ozil, I rarely feel like he's had the game of his life and been unlucky to be on the losing team. I felt that way about Cesc, RVP and would always come out to support those sort of guys in a contract dispute. Ozil...i can't say the same.

[Cripps]

Nope, it really doesn't. In this league you need a mix of player types. Certainly the high energy Kante types, for sure. But also the speed merchants, the leaders, the blood and guts defender types, and the playmaker - every good team has one. When you get the right blend you get a good team.

Yep. Which is why I said generally speaking.

[Cripps]

Plenty call him lazy. They say he goes missing. What they are really seeing is the whole team go missing because it's directed by an incompetent. Then the frustration is taken out on Ozil because people expect him to somehow compensate for the total lack of a team around him.

[Niall_Quinn]

Wenger is a poor coach but the players need to shoulder some responsibility as well, if we had any strong personalities on the pitch we'd be doing a lot better. If someone like Ozil had the mentality to match his ability then he'd be a different animal.

Chelsea for example have gone through plenty of managerial upheaval over the years, however their players were always strong enough to get it together amongst themselves.

Who do you think has ensured we don't have any leaders?

The Great Leader himself.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Wenger is a poor coach but the players need to shoulder some responsibility as well, if we had any strong personalities on the pitch we'd be doing a lot better. If someone like Ozil had the mentality to match his ability then he'd be a different animal.

Chelsea for example have gone through plenty of managerial upheaval over the years, however their players were always strong enough to get it together amongst themselves.

Apart from last season of course

[Niall_Quinn]

Apart from last season of course

Last season they suffered under a coach who made it all about himself.

Sounds familiar.

[Power n Glory]

Wenger is a poor coach but the players need to shoulder some responsibility as well, if we had any strong personalities on the pitch we'd be doing a lot better. If someone like Ozil had the mentality to match his ability then he'd be a different animal.

Chelsea for example have gone through plenty of managerial upheaval over the years, however their players were always strong enough to get it together amongst themselves.

Pretty much. We all know Wenger isn't one to micro manage and won't dish out detailed instructions at half time or shout anything from the touchline. So saying that, I can't quite understand why the players haven't worked out for themselves that a player like Giroud can't play tika taka pass and move and is more of an aerial threat. They clocked in enough hours playing with him to work that out. So why after seeing the ball bobble off his feet for the umpteenth time do they keep trying to ping him a ball to feet pass when they know the outcome? It applies all over the pitch. Where is the intelligence to adapt? It's the worst team I've seen assembled by Wenger. Previous teams, you could see two or three players having some sort of understanding of where they want the ball and how they want it delivered. I don't see that from this squad. No team chemistry at all. Flat.

[Niall_Quinn]

Pretty much. We all know Wenger isn't one to micro manage and won't dish out detailed instructions at half time or shout anything from the touchline. So saying that, I can't quite understand why the players haven't worked out for themselves that a player like Giroud can't play tika taka pass and move and is more of an aerial threat. They clocked in enough hours playing with him to work that out. So why after seeing the ball bobble off his feet for the umpteenth time do they keep trying to ping him a ball to feet pass when they know the outcome? It applies all over the pitch. Where is the intelligence to adapt? It's the worst team I've seen assembled by Wenger. Previous teams, you could see two or three players having some sort of understanding of where they want the ball and how they want it delivered. I don't see that from this squad. No team chemistry at all. Flat.

I think, what you are trying to say is, Wenger is a mega incompetent cunt.

[Niall_Quinn]

Ozil's set-up for Alexis Sanchez on Tuesday means he now has more assists than another player since the start of last season. The German wizard has now laid on 27 assists for his team-mates, one more than second-placed Christian Eriksen.

Ozil now has eight goals and eight assists for the season in 31 games, an average of a goal or assist every other game, not bad for a supposed disappearing act.

He also set a Premier League record for chances created in a game, with a massive 12!

For perspective. We need to keep this guy too.

[Power n Glory]

Where has been over the past few months? I can’t get excited about such stats without some context. I keep mentioning Cesc, but those are the sort of stats that impress me. Despite playing a bench role for his team, he still managed make vital contributions to help his team win the league.