21 Dec 2016 21:25:33
I Don't See how it's fair to single out Mesut Ozil for criticism. Let Me first state that am a huge Ozil Fan and he is by far my favourite footballer in the World, so this might be more emotional than rational.
The hate Ozil is getting now from our own fans and the media is shocking to me, it's reminiscent of when he first arrived. Yes he has been off form this season, but i feel like he is being made a scapegoat. I don't remember Alexis getting the same treatment last season when he had poor spells and Ozil was far and away our best player. But people tend to shutout what doesn't fit their Narrative.
He has already scored 9 goals this season and he's on course to have his best goal scoring season ever. He is World class to me and tied as our best player with Alexis, Hazard is still considered world class after having a horrendous season, Mesut deserves the benefit of the doubt after having a poor couple of games.
Ozil doesn't dominate games, He creates moments that win games. Last season he created the most chances in the league, the same people who who ridicule that stat used the fact that he created non against City to bash him. He is only behind Messi and Ronaldo in CL assists since he debuted, non WC players don't do that. If the criticism was about current form I'd concur but it has turned into a referendum about his quality.
{Ed025's Note - let me tell you my take on things CMP, when alexis is having a poor game he is still very industrious and works his socks off which endears him to the supporters, when mesut is not firing on all cylinders he seems to go in to his shell and his body language says"this is not going well so why bother", dont get me wrong the guy is world class but if he had a more positive mental attitude it would certainly get the crowd to show him more love..well thats how i see it anyway mate..
21 Dec 2016 22:39:04
Ed,
You are spot on. I love Mesut to bits, but sometimes when things are going awry (Goodison) , you sometimes wonder "Is Ozil playing? "
He does have a tendency to go missing.
{Ed025's Note - cracking player though dags, a bit of a luxury like marks and spencer mince pies...but very tasty mate.. :)
22 Dec 2016 09:46:57
Many players could be criticised for their performances in the last 2 matches. What concerns me in the lack of effort and fighting spirit in this and other Wenger teams for some period. This may be a reflection of Wenger himself, who when the going gets tough rarely shows a fighting spirit on the touchline. We have all seen him, at such times, fiddling with is zip or bent double on the bench clutching his stomach, when he should be on the touchline orchestrating the team. I also believe he doesn't allow players to display their character on the pitch. Imagine the likes of Roy Keane without his fighting spirit and he would have been half the player he was. If Wenger leaves, which he may do (watch the situation at PSG) , I would love to see Simeone arrive.
22 Dec 2016 20:27:23
Ozil is a fine tuned artist - they are moody and their moment ebb and flow from inspiration. Sanchez is a highly skilled lunch pail worker that shows up for an honest days work. For me a team can only have one or two artists and needs a lot more workers. Ozil is a great luxury if you can afford it.
22 Dec 2016 20:31:35
Everyone loves a Klopp type character who wears his heart on his sleeve and gets involved with the players and crowd throughout the game but its not about marks out of 10 for artistic that wins titles it's a results that do that.
I'd be more than Arsene to knit a jumper throughout the 90 minutes if we were still in the running for the title next May.