The midfielder will always provoke an array of opinion, but his
performances for Germany show he can perform better than he has shown at
Arsenal.
Actions speak louder than words and no one knows that better than Mesut
Ozil. People will always have an array of opinion on the best players in
world football and the German international’s huge social media
presence and fame makes him an easy win for ex-players, pundits who look
for someone to criticise when things are going wrong.
The negativity surrounding Arsenal at the moment has been brought on by
years of frustration at the Gunners inability to maintain a consistent
challenge for a major trophy. There have been big victories, terrible
defeats and, somewhere in between, major signings, with Ozil arriving in
north London for a then-club record fee of £42.5m four years ago.
The 28-year-old has always sparked debate on how good he really is. It’s
clear that someone who has made the most final third passes completed
(3015), created the most chances (409), made the most successful crosses
(229) and recorded the most assists (42) in the Premier League since
joining in
2013 is undoubtedly a world class player whose statistics
cannot be argued with.
The main focal points of the criticism stem round Ozil’s body language
and ‘lack of leadership qualities’ when Arsenal are going through a bad
patch. His performances for the national team rarely get questioned and
his two assists and goal against the Czech Republic and Norway showed
exactly what he is capable of. Ozil tracked back, made an excellent
assist for Thomas Muller in the first game and proved to be the main
threat in an attacking midfield position.
The former Real Madrid man insisted in an interview with Goal near the end of last season that people should accept him for who he is. His recent Instagram statement which told ex-players and pundits to ‘stop talking and start supporting’
was perfectly timed as Arsene Wenger’s side need everyone behind them
going into the new campaign. Ozil has created 10 chances in the league
so far – no player has created more.
“You’re not going to tell me Mesut Ozil is not a leader? You’re not
going to tell me Alexis Sanchez is not a leader? You’re not going to
tell me Petr Cech is not a leader," former Arsenal captain Patrick
Vieira recently told Mail Online .
“I believe there are different types of leaders on the field. You
have the technical leader, you have the vocal one, you have the one who
doesn’t talk but shows it in his desire and how he competes.
“I’m more like that: the one who isn’t as vocal as Tony Adams but
will show it how he competes on the field. And you have the type of
leader who will want to take a penalty in the 95th minute — this is part
of being a leader as well.”
Wenger’s main problem in getting the best out of Ozil is refusal to
bring in a player who can offset some of the German’s weaknesses. He
would be more effective if a central midfielder with defensive qualities
could play behind him, but the Frenchman continues to stick with the
vulnerable midfield pivot of Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey – neither of
whom are defensive midfielders.
Let's not forget that this is a player who topped the league's assist
chart two seasons ago with 19 - one short of Thierry Henry's record for
most in one season.. Wenger certainly knows how to utilise his strengths
but there is the fact that Arsenal's defensive side has been neglected
in the past couple of seasons which saw them finish fifth in the last
campaign.
He's been forced to play from deep in recent games due to Arsenal's
defensive deficiencies and failure to get the ball in the final third
quickly enough. That isn't an issue for the German national team where
they play with two holding midfielders and possess a defensive unit
which rarely concedes goals.
Ozil has consistently shown what he can do for club and country. He
creates an abundance of opportunities for his team-mates, opens up the
pitch with his intelligent runs and pin-point passing while he showed
last season that he isn't afraid to score a goal - recording his best
goalscoring tally at club level during the previous campaign.
He will always provoke, excite, entertain and frustrate, but that's what
makes Ozil so enigmatic. Those who feel this will be his last season at
Arsenal should appreciate what they have before it's gone because once
the No.10 leaves Emirates Stadium they will almost certainly be worse
off as a team and overall attacking unit.
His critics say he doesn't work hard enough while the player himself
wants them to 'stop talking and start supporting'. They could provide
the extra motivation to prove everyone wrong and remind them who the
best No.10 in world football is.
Source:Chris Wheatley of Goal.com
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