Unai Emery says Arsenal will only get the best out of Mesut Ozil if the player shakes off the injuries and sickness that keep him out of training sessions.
Despite signing a mega-money contract extension last year, being handed the long-coveted number 10 shirt and being made one of the club’s captains, the German has featured in only 18 games this season. On the terraces and in the press the big question has been, why?
Asked about the situation earlier this week, Arsene Wenger hinted that players can fall into a comfort zone after signing long-term contracts and don’t necessarily train or play their best. When this was put to Emery in his pre-Bate Borisov press conference, the Spaniard hinted that not being available for training has certainly a factor.
Rather than absolve his star man of responsibility, he made clear that the ball is in Ozil’s court, saying:
“Mostly, the key is [in] his hand and he is working very well this week and I ask him in our conversations to be consistent, to be available for us training, when you can train with quality and consistency, it can help us with the best performance after in the games.
“Now, this week is good for all the players, because we are in a big, important moment for the season and I look at him doing the training like we want.
“I know he wants, but we need to be consistent and available in training and the matches without the injuries and without being sick. Like that, we can find and see the best Mesut with us.”
Ozil has played 102 minutes of football in the 10 games since Boxing Day when he delivered an underwhelming performance at Brighton. In 24 hours time, we’ll see if his ‘good’ week at London Colney is rewarded with a start in the Europa League.
I don’t think Emery could be any clearer than explicitly stating that Ozil’s attitude is the major stumbling block. Emery is a principled guy and clearly isn’t willing to indulge Ozil’s behaviour, especially when the performances aren’t there. It’s about creating a new culture – one that doesn’t pander to egos. That’s what we asked for and that’s what we are getting. If Ozil doesn’t train well, doesn’t approach the game right, he doesn’t make the team. If you all wanted the continuation of Wenger’s philosophy, why did you all campaign so hard for his removal?
That sort of senseless post always comes when the title of the article is misleading.
So please, indulge me. Why would a new manager, who knows the importance of results and fan support, freeze out a player who is supposedly one of the worlds best playmakers and who earns more than any other footballer in the history of this club? Is he just trying to make things as difficult for himself as possible?
Why, it’s because the world in all its maleficence is working against Ozil to bring down the mighty star of YouTube highlights and Instagram loyalty.
I thought this was well known good sir.
Unai emery has been a victim of player power before so inferiority complex might be a reason. The guy has just come off the whole neymar situation so self preservation maybe dont want to get stumped on again by the clubs most influential player asserting my authority situation
I don’t buy this narrative. Yes Neymar is a diva and there was a power struggle but Ozil doesn’t have this kind of power despite is PR army, Emery selects his players on merit.
People also forget that emery played Neymar and it wasn’t Neymar that got him sacked, it was not winning the champions league. Same as Blanc and same as will probably happen to Tuchel.
Emery wasn’t sacked. He signed a 2 year contract with the option of a years extension which he didn’t take up. It was his decision to leave after winning 5 trophies.
For one, he can’t handle big egos. And you can even argue that Ozil doesn’t have one. He has played with three world class coaches in Low, Wenger and Mourinho – three different coaches – and not a single one has ever singled him out before. Two – So that we can be having this conversation instead of talking about abysmal performances. Straight out of Mourinho’s text book. He’s scapegoating a player that obviously the press love to hate, and he’s giving us (fans and the media) something to talk about. Truth is, no one should be talking about Ozil… Read more »
There will always be conspiracy theories. I prefer to look at the most likely scenario. I just don’t believe a manager who turns up to an already tricky job starts playing power games with his star player. We all know Wenger indulged Ozil, it seems entirely feasible that Emery hasn’t and Ozil has reacted badly. Emery never stopped playing Neymar, regardless of how bad their personal relationship was.
To be fair, Emery never had the option of not playing Neymar, given Neymar’s relationship with the PSG owners.
yep
yep
yep
and yep
as i’ve said previously unfortunately the death of ozil in the shirt will lead to the death of any major superstars coming our way,
wenger could still pull them
emery cant even sort his frigging teeth out
i for one am going into hibernation, batten down the hatches and just hope city can prevent pool and spuds from the top until their repsective managers leave.
sad times for a mad fan of more than 25 years
lol. Don’t forget to put the tin foil hat on.
Löw…world class manager. Haha! He certainly got found out last World Cup. He’s lucky just to have a job at this point.
Low won the world cup in 2014. That puts him up there as a world class manager despite his recent results.
oneblackdude, this all sounds neat and tidy, until you realize that Emery was interested in bringing Ozil to PSG.
It is a power struggle, and I’ve taken Emery’s side on this from day 1. I don’t think he realized what he was up against. But it’s the good fight. Ozil’s missed ONE HUNDRED GAMES. And I’ve played with stroppy prima donnas like Ozil on my teams and they can be divisive and toxic.
And no one can stand Neymar, so that’s beside the point. While he’s been injured PSG have been soaring.
So please indulge the rest of us. Why would a manager down one goal away to a very strong Man City team bring on a player who had arrived only a few days earlier and had no knowledge of either his teammates or his opponents, and had played almost no competitive football for the entire season–when he had Ozil on the bench? Must be because Ozil didn’t look good in training. Bullshit.
Has Ozil ever been effective against Man City? Those are his favorite fixtures to practice his disappearing act in.
I’ve watched Ozil since he came to Arsenal and I have never seen him hide even if he has a bad match. Yes Ozil has been effective against Man City as he has against most top teams.
Name a game in his Arsenal career when Ozil has come off the bench when our backs are against the wall and changed the game.
I am really amazed how lot of people are saying all the time that Emery can’t handle big egos. He couldn’t handle Neymar, and that somehow proves that he is bad in managing big stars? ffs
Not just Neymar, he’s got a long history of pissing off players. In the biography his brother says that when they all arrived n Singapore for the pre-season tour he told the squad they would go the hotel, leave their things and then go straight to training. ” The humidity made the heat impossible, it was the middle of the day, after such a long voyage,and yet none of the players protested.” and “The training was intense, I was very glad I didn’t have to do it.” Page 10. That’s not the behavior of a good manager, that’s a dog… Read more »
But Vonnie none of the players protested though. What in god’s name do you think pre-season is for? It’s *supposed* to be intense. Sometimes even military-style bootcamp training. Doing pre-season as a rugby player in my youth we had to train outdoor during hailstorms and weren’t allowed to run for cover, we formed a huddle instead and waited it out. Experiences like that build solidarity, camaraderie and fitness. That’s why Emery’s brother said “none of the players protested”. Because professionals know an intense few weeks of pre-season makes the rest of the season much, much easier. Imagine calling Emery a… Read more »
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun they say. Training is supposed to be intense, but not stupidly so. The players can’t protest, but they can think that the new manager’s a bit of a prick. It’s a small-minded, bossy way to “teach” the team who’s boss.
Neymar, and Silva, Marquinhos, Alves, Mbappe, and basically the whole squad who repeats everyday has good Tuchel is too them compared to what they experienced lately. That since day 1. They never said anything like this about Emery. Never.
Floppy, Helder, sorry, neither of those responses can justify throwing Suarez on the pitch in that match.
The only explanation I can think of is Emery gave up on the match and just wanted to get Suarez a run out. Let him know the gravity of the challenge that lies before him and what it feels like to play a match like that.
Look, I was as disappointed as anyone that Ozil didn’t feature in that game, or any other for that matter. Ozil was my Arsenal poster boy for years and I still think that when he’s running good, there’s not a more beautiful and graceful player in the world. But my point remains, there has to be a reason that Emery won’t play him which goes beyond tactical stupidity, psychological mind games or money. Emery might not be everyone’s cup of tea but if you’ve got one of the biggest stars on the planet at your club, you only drop him… Read more »
Morale wise i think ozil comkng off the brnch would do wonders.. as opposex to benching ramsey.. for gods sake
I think managers kill talents & players. Unai & the so called the special one may not be different. I don’t any where the Arsenal is taking this team till he gets sacked. Good managers manage discipline & mind about the games & their fans. Ozil might have been weak some where in some day but has he remained weaker than all the first choice players Unai is using????
Furgason managed all sorts of players & their discipline to win the games & support from the fund even when when some of his players showed inconsistency
Again: bullshit. There is no chance whatsoever that Suarez, however good he may eventually be, could have given us a better chance at that moment (to use an Emeryism) than Ozil.
The explanation that the decision on not playing Ozil was based on that week’s training cannot–CAN NOT–be true if the chosen alternative was Suarez.
In an important CL game, Wenger benched Giroud in favour of Sanogo for disciplinary reasons. Remember when Giroud was in tabloids because of a night spent with a model a day before Arsenal was trashed by Liverpool?
There is something called leadership decision. The guy is not doing what you want, you bench him no matter what. Wenger did exact same to Podolski. But quite frankly, getting him off the wage bill is a big reason as well..
If Ozil were consistently producing at a world class level, Arsenal wouldn’t mind having him on the wage bill at these wages. The issue is his production hasn’t come close to matching his contract which is why we’re having this discussion
What about cristiano ronaldo? Are u saying we havve a better system than madrid ? Lol clubs fuck up.. simple
The Giroud situation was a bit different, it was very short term, unlike this mess which is dragging on and on… and Giroud was kept on the bench as much because his mind wasn’t on football (sounded like his marriage was on the line), so Wenger probably thought that a focused Sanogo was better than a distracted Giroud who had other things and stresses on his mind. In other words that decision was as much about the good of the team (and its performance on the day) as it was about taking disciplinary action to reprimand Giroud.
Insightful on both comments. Not derogatory of Ozil and portray Emery as the pragmatic man he is.
Precisely how the statement is crafted. To deflect the focus onto the player.
Are you paid by Mesut’s agent ?
Good point.
Instant gratification seldom leads to long-term success (cue all of Mourinho’s teams). Our football is boring to watch and we have an obvious gap in quality but when put in perspective of the last decade of Wenger’s era it only makes sense to provide a couple of seasons for the club to start recovering from chronic mismanagement (players, contracts, funds etc.).
I hope your post is not downvoted to oblivion as I hope Emery is given a fair chance at his job.
Read between the lines. Emery was rightly slated for a black hole of creativity last week against BATE. He needs Ozil and by putting out statements like this he makes it look like it’s Ozil’s choice to be included tomorrow. This way Emery saves face, which shows good PR from Emery’s team. However, If the problem can be sorted between them now, when Emery needs it, then it points to where the real problem is clear as day. For me though, I don’t give a shit about the manager’s handbags between our players. If he can work from this and… Read more »
Mourinho tactics?!?
Back 3/5. Most of the lineup are defenders. And we seem to hate holding onto the ball or pass it quickly.
Name our fit attacking players that haven’t been playing?
Fair, we have been suffering with some injuries, but mostly in defence! But I’d prefer we set up more in an attacking way, even using some of our younger players to fill in. Willock’s been having a great season. Suarez could have started vs BATE, he’d hardly need to adapt to the Europa league! Besides, we had a decent attack but no service. A midfield 2 to break down a stacked defence is always going to be hard, too slow to move the ball around. And unfair on players like Guendouzi, who for some reason was expected to be our… Read more »
Emery has inherited an unbalanced, incoherent squad, that has nothing to do with him and it’s going to take whomever is our coach/manager years to fix that.
You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
That doesn’t really make sense.
We couldn’t beat BATE. They are in preseason ffs!
Let’s just hope we smash them tomorrow 🙂
But we couldn’t beat Swedish part timers last season either!!
I don’t think last season is a good bench mark for success…
And funnily enough. We lost to Ostersunds 2-1 at home, when they fielded pretty much a 442, and tried to be positive. We actually only beat them (3 nil away) when they played a back 3/5 and tried to hold the result.
Also funny, Ozil didn’t play the first match, but played and scored when we back them in the second leg.
Time for him to do the same tomorrow 😉
We played the FIRST one away and won Ostersunds 3:0 and Ozil played.
Same squad, more or less, as last year and yet the football has been worse to watch. I’ll give him until the end of next season but this season, barring 1 or 2 games, win or lose it really hasn’t been pretty to watch.
Stop smoking Bob. Which PR team? Unlike Ozil He spoke directly to the press. We’ve had some incredible performances this year and we are a work in progress
If you think he, and literally every top level manager, don’t have a think with their team beforehand what they will say during press conferences, then it is not me who’s smoking mate 😉
People moaning about player power, attitude, etc. Mesut is our best FOOTBALLER. Our best footballer has to play. We are playing football and he is the best at it. Play him.
Mourinho tried this with Pogba.. look how that turned out. Mourinho goes, a manager comes in who understands people are different and need to be treated differently, Pogba is now the most in-form midfielder in the world..
Good leadership doesn’t mean cracking the whip at everyone and making everyone be a workhorse. Good leadership is recognising people’s strengths and at times releasing your authorititarian grip.
I’ve never bought into the idea that Emery is cutting off his nose to spite his face, I think there’s been legitimate concerns regarding Ozil for a very long time. In a team that is lacking in quality+creativity, and with Emery clearly under pressure, I just don’t believe that if he thought Ozil was committed to the cause? He would keep him out of the team. Ozil has been given chances this season…. he just hasn’t really taken them, and his awful form runs way further back than this season alone. He isn’t the future, and I hope we get… Read more »
HelderHughes
Taken him a long time to come out with this. I’ll take a punt and say it is a thin excuse to divert away from the boring dross that has been on offer for a while.
“I don’t think Emery could be any clearer”… how about by keeping his story straight? That would be a good start.
That is Emery truth, which by the way could be The truth. Clearly, there’s a problem between those two, and it’s a shame they dont seem to make it halfway each of them so everyone, them included can benefit this. On the other hand, I witnessed it closely from his time in Paris, Emery is a good coach, good tactician, but a poor manager when it comes to managing star’s egos. I’m not saying players are angels, I’m just saying as a manager, his job is also to motivates them. Yes, I know, we all would play for free. Of… Read more »
I wish every whiny, brainwashed, Ozil-bot would just read this post by HelderHughes and STFU.
“It’s about creating a new culture – one that doesn’t pander to egos.” I have agreed with this idea from day one of this whole process: getting taken off at Chelsea away.
Ace.
There are subtle hints there suggesting that he might play him tomorrow.
There are subtle hints he might not!
It maybe a game to start Ozil especially because Auba needs the service and BATE are likely to play the low block.
We are very likely to see a back 3, plus DMs. So, there should be enough to stop the counters.
However I suspect Emery might start Ozil on the bench.
Ultimately I want us to get through to the next round, whatever the formation and personnel.
I might just cry if we line up with 3 at the back and 2 DMs for this match.
Emery has mentioned several times over the last 3-4 months how important he thinks it is that the players train with high intensity and commitment. I seem to recall a statement from him a while ago about how he bases his team selection, in part, on how the players train. I have thought for some time now that the problem between them is that Ozil doesn’t train that hard. Hopefully he will put in more effort because a fully committed Ozil will be great for this team.
“Mostly, the key is [in] his hand and he is working very well this week and I ask him in our conversations to be consistent, to be available for us training, when you can train with quality and consistency, it can help us with the best performance after in the games.
“I know he wants, but we need to be consistent and available in training and the matches without the injuries and without being sick. Like that, we can find and see the best Mesut with us.”
That doesn’t seem like unreasonable demands
Ozil has been putting up training pictures before and after every matchday. Right now it seems like it’s a case of Emery’s word against Ozil’s. Why are you so inclined to believe Emery’s account of the story. Its not like he has been consistent with his reasons. Maybe, just maybe he just pulled this out of the thin air too. He could be wrong, he could also be right too. What’s pretty obvious is, sick or not, showing up for training or not, we are a much more better team with Mesut Ozil in it. And this is not up… Read more »
Which could have been taken all on the same day and posted separately, that’s how social media works!!
I’m inclined to take Emery’s word because for the last 18 months of Wenger’s reign Ozil missed numerous away matches due to “illness”, so this is not a new story to me but a continuation of past behaviour. It’s also very well known that he got preferential treatment from Wenger, which by the looks of it hasn’t been extended by Emery.
True. Probably colluded with his teammates and club photographers to do same too.
There are many sessions in a day for players. There are the warm ups, the tactical/technical sessions, then there are the gym/strength sessions and also group then individual game analysis sessions. You have absolutely no idea which of the sessions he is attending. Players usually attend the field-sessions, because those are usually the “fun” sessions to attend, and are usually ran by the Head Coach. The Head Coach though, usually request players use and attend all sessions; the core ones and the supplementary ones, but he can’t force them. For all you know from social media, just because Ozil attends… Read more »
This is a tangential comment to the main subject of the conversation but I am glad we have our BFG to mentor our academy prospects. Principled, approachable yet respected, a good leader and effective communicator… and pursuing team success instead of personal limelight despite all his success (a Wold Cup winner with 100+ International caps). I hope he will make a good manager one day. Also a pleasant surprise to see Bellerin mentioned as the other individual, especially as his interests off the field are well publicised. I think his commitment to improvement goes a long way to explaining his… Read more »
Love your insights Faisal
For all you know, Torreirra and Guendouzi never attend these sessions, yet play. For all you know, Mustafi is always there and along with Jenks. I am trying to say: you don’t know anything, one way or the other.
Yes, i think the fact Emery specifically mentions illness here speaks a lot about how frequently that happens.
I’m not a fan of ‘gaming’, but I’d be really interested to see how often Ozil involves himself with it?
Bottom line… he’s paid 10 times more than my annual salary every single week to play football, and he rarely does.
One would hope that the football is at the top of his list.
LOL.
Clearly you haven’t been watching a lot of live football the past couple of seasons.
Go back to Instagram
Doesn’t help if you play him LWB in training, and expect him to run arraaaaand a bit.
The best creative midfielder in the league at the minute is Bernardo Silva and look at the work he does off the ball. Look at eriksen, de Bruyne, David Silva etc. They all do work off the ball, why is Ozil above this? It’s a required thing these days. Why is the knee jerk reaction to label any criticism of Ozil’s game “yer da” or a bit Brexit?
Dobby is a free elf, but Dobby got his facts wrong.
Bernardo Silva is not a #10 player, nor he is the most creative in the PL this season.
Manchester City don’t even play a formation specifically using any of the Silvas in #10.
Also, not a knee jerk reaction, but Emery needs to just play Ozil in a position he is best at, with the right support.
Emery needs to bench complacent players and play the ones who work for and support the team, not the other way around.
This is what everyone clamored for under Wenger. Now that it has been done but has been ineffective with regards to Ozil, it’s apparently a stupid idea.
Well, that’s what he’s doing. And that got us the result at Bate
You can’t be rest assured these “complacent” players will be on the team sheet tomorrow.
You can’t possibly believe they got a little bit less complacent after our abysmal results
Can you stop crying. We’re still in it!
Now THIS is yer da talking!
So basically what you’re telling us is all the teams better than us and above us don’t player with a dedicated no.10?
Is that your defence? Boy, I hope you’re not a defence lawyer.
Delle Alli and Jesse Lingard (with Ole) both played in #10 this season
Better Call Saul!
Have you seen how much off the ball effort those two put in? Lingard especially has a phenomenal workrate and is the first man pressing for the ball just about every game.
I never said he was a number 10, for starters. Naturally though, all those players are number 10s and all are playing better than Ozil these days whilst doing their work off the ball. Stop giving him such a free ride. There’s no excuse for any player not to do the basics these days and, frankly, we aren’t good enough to carry a player like that
Wenger had to answer a question about Ozil for Emery to take the rebound and clarify the situation. It is a terrible thing for a sportsman not to want to train with niggles. Clubs even give pain killer shots to players so that they play.
‘we need to be consistent and available in training and the matches without the injuries and without being sick.’
Emery is clearly questioning Ozil’s injuries and general attitude.
The angry fanbase should note that we don’t really know what is going on in the club. So probably there is a mix of reasons why Ozil is not playing as much, aside from his obvious footballing deficiencies.
Anyhow, we should sell him the next summer. Club’s not getting their money’s worth of performances, and the player is not about to get better with age.
Obvious footballing deficiencies? Iwobi and Mkhitaryan or whoever deliver more than Ozil? I would be completely backing Emery’s decisions if the players he was including in the squad instead of Ozil were performing better than him, but they’re not. None of them is even close to his quality
So basically “stop pretending to be sick and come in and do what you’re paid 350,000 a week to do”. It’s baffling to me anyone is backing Ozil on this. Name me another job where you could routinely call in a sicky because you weren’t feeling it that day?
I know ultimately it’s the player who decides if he is able to play or not but we do have a lot of medical and performance personnel who should be able to clarify/prove whether or not the player is ill/injured.
Still weird.
Ball is in Özil’s court again. Let’s hope he delivers when plays and will be afforded more opportunities after Bate…
“Coach, I can’t play / train because I have a terrible headache.”
Now show me the medical personnel that’s gonna say “no you dont, so out with you onto the pitch for training.”
Honestly, if you suspect someone to fake it, the only thing you can do is to get rid of that person. As it is likely to happen in any other job. Just in football it’s not that easy if someone shows no intention at all to leave before the contract ends.
Don’t jump the gun, this is just one side of the story. Same way that you shouldn’t slate Emery too when Ozil releases statements showing he’s been training hard all along. The truth is going to be in the middle. Those backing Emery over Ozil make sense because he’s the manager and deserves the chance to get the team how he wants it. And, those backing Ozil over Emery make sense because he’s been at our club much longer than Emery and he’s arguably more skilled and decorated than anyone else at the club. How about we just back Arsenal.… Read more »
The thing is though, this Ozil behaviour isn’t exactly new. We all know he was over indulged by Wenger and the mysterious illness and missed away games started well before this season as well. If Emery isn’t willing to suffer that, I’ve got no issue with that. I do back arsenal over the manager, absolutely, but on this I think the manager is doing what I think he feels is best for the club and I support that.
Well said Bob.
Iwobi, Guendouzi and Xhaka must be absolute beasts in training because no matter what they do, they don’t get dropped.
Not to say they’re having bad seasons but how bad must Ozil be doing if he’s only picked him like 3 times all season?
Maybe they actually turn up to training or something
Hear hear!
Maybe he does too. We have no idea; we do know that Ozil has been a key member of successful Mourinho, Low, and Wenger sides, and there’s never been complaints from those managers that he was unprofessional or wouldn’t train.
So we’re believing the Emery party line like it’s Holy Scripture these days, Blogs?
He has been absent 9 times!
9 times?
9 times!
I was the 9th upvote
Ozil… Ozil…. Ozil….
Now hes cleared that up hopefully that’s the end of the ozil show and we can get on with the job of winning football matches starting Thursday by any means necessary.
I can’t say I have a problem with this. I don’t think Mesut Ozil should be exempt from training to the same standards and frequency as the rest of the team just because he is more talented. I’d be a lot more critical of Emery if he didn’t stick to his principles than us potentially missing out on wins and points in Ozils absence.
At this point people saying Emery should be more accommodating of Ozil should be asking why Ozil can’t simply do what’s asked like the rest of the squad.
The whole team delivered an underwhelming performance at Brighton. And he wasn’t the worst player on the pitch on the day. Not by a mile
He was also subbed at half time, and in the second half we didn’t create any chances at all
The chances created in the 1st half were mostly long balls from defensive midfielders. But I like how you made it his accomplishment.
This is one of these moments where I am thankful that I actually watch this team play, and remember what really happened on the pitch.
But how many are paid £350,000 a week to make the difference?
Well, from the performances they delivered after he was ridiculously subbed, obviously none of them does. And going off that performance, I doubt any of them will ever command such.
Hence they don’t but he does, and he still doesn’t put in the performances.
so you sub a guy at halftime based on how much money he makes. this is beyond stupid.
True we should be getting a hell of a lot more out of a player paid that much a week. But will get a lot more if we actually play him, especially since we will pay him regardless. I do question why, on top of that figure, we now pay the extra loan wages of what seems to be an Ozil-lite. Prefer we loaned a defender til the end of the season instead!
Apparently, he doesn’t train very often because he’s often injured or ill, why would you play an unfit, unwell player?
If true, that he is so injured or ill to do anything, I’d be deeply concerned. We have a state of the art medical team, who I assume are doing what they can to keep him fit. If he is fine and just mucking about and not training, I’d prefer Emery to chuck him under the bus with the fans and just say “he’s fine, and he’s being a lazy git”. But multiple times he’s been able to make the bench only to see no action when the game has cried out for creativity. So honestly, I don’t know what… Read more »
His posts on social media begs to differ.
I’d love to believe Ozil has a much better understanding of his body than a coach who yanked him off at halftime against Brighton.
Yeah, to be fair I do think Ozil’s been training at least well enough to be playing. I remember the Ornstein quotes from last month ( https://arseblog.news/2019/01/ornstein-una-emery-has-suggested-to-ozil-its-best-for-him-to-leave-audio/ ): “I’m told he’s working extremely hard to get himself fit. Reports coming out of London Colney is that he’s now doing extra gym work and he has a positive demeanour. He’s determined to work his way back into the side.” “The word was he wasn’t doing a lot of the extra work most players were, and he is now. I’ve heard positive things about his behaviour, his commitment, his relationships with the… Read more »
No… Instead, it paints him as a player that was unfit, while everyone else was putting in the work to stay fit.
He might’ve changed recently, but all these comments lead in one direction… That he wasn’t doing the necessary training.
I love Ozil, but I fail to believe that he’s been excluded for any other reason.
It’s quite incredible.
Ornstein was literally saying a player wasn’t doing the extra work, and people think that’s acceptable.
I’ve defended him since he’s been at the club, but I’m starting to think the anti-Özil people I’ve been arguing with had a point all along.
First of all, if a player is actually injured or sick, it’s not his fault, and it’s ridiculous for anyone to suggest otherwise. It might make the club want to sell that player if he can’t stay fit, but it’s ridiculous for a manager to effectively punish a player because he’s having injury issues. That’s Pulis-level neanderthal crap. Further, people seem to forget that Ozil gave us many years of almost completely injury free football (the one big injury against Chelsea in the autumn of 14-15 being the only exception that springs to mind), and only has been having more… Read more »
He was given that poor decision of contract to stay because th club were in a shambles on the pitch and with contractual issues with Alexis as well. Not because anybody believed he will consistently singlehandedly win matches when the rest of the squad plays bottom half ball. A player with his main qualities that’s a ridiculous expectation because results from his qualities also depends on performances of others.
‘consistent in matches and without been sick’ means that Ozil has been sick all this while… May God help him
Ozil’s inconsistency seemed to start after the German press unfairly blamed him for their horrendous performance in the last World Cup in which he was far from their worst player. They also questioned his commitment to the German team by questioning his loyalty given his Turkish background. He subsequently quit the German national team and has struggled with his form since.
I wonder if this recent huge turmoil in his life has effected his health and performance. Sport is a head game after all.
That thought has frquently crossed my mind,too. After working many years with people who have been had tremendous mental problems which have effected their work ethics and output, it certainly might have had some part in unbalancing Ozil after the German press went ballistic over the WC performance. And if we just put aside the money aspect for a moment, I’ve actually experienced high paid work power have likened problems- psychsomatic symptons can strike even the wealthiest of human beings. Hope that it all works out well for Arsenal- Mesut and Emery included.
Good point. And we heard from Emery how we are going to help him and support him, only to basically freeze him out. Fucking top class management!
Did you ever think that maybe Emery is keeping him out of the spotlight as a way of protecting him?
No, because that’s idiotic and obviously not what’s happening.
Obviously…
I think this is the most likely explanation, vilified at home, career winding down, Arsenal not really being able to compete, and Ozil develops depression/motivational problems. Psychological problems can have a major impact on commitment and performance. Yet, his constant exclusion is likely to exacerbate those problems. In Unai’s defense, he should not play someone who may be a liability just to help him get his head straight. This seems the most likely scenario for me, I seriously doubt Emery is not playing him for financial or egotistical reasons.
Sounds to me like Emery is getting his own PR like statement out there before the game tomorrow. Challenge the player to commit more in training, so if he’s involved it seems he’s trod the line, so to speak. If he’s dropped it could be argued Emery didn’t see the commitment he is looking for.
I’m hoping he’s involved from the start, I do think we have a much better chance of getting the required result with Ozil in the team. We shall see.
Obviously I could be, and probably am, completely wrong.
As uncomfortable as it is for the club and the player, and sometimes for us to hear, I appreciate getting at least a taste of one of the perspectives. Of course It is perfectly understandable for Emery to want consistency in training from his players. The vagueness comes in when we don’t know the level of injuries or illness in play. I mean, it’s not exactly like you can just say to someone ‘yeah, could you just not be injured? And not get sick? Great. Thanks so much.’ On the other hand, it would be ridiculously bold for Emery to… Read more »
I don’t think it’s unfair to expect more from Ozil than he’s giving (when played). And I certainly don’t think there should be any issue with asking him to train to an expected level. I think there’s a culture at Arsenal that has been permissive of giving less than your best, of not fighting right at the top, of just kind of being good enough to get by. They’re all likeable lads, but it’s a far cry from changing rooms in the past where players were dedicated perfectionists who pushed themselves to be the best and so demanded that level… Read more »
Bergkamp = legend. I much preferred the old Wenger way, only giving out 12 month contracts to players approaching 30. And of course buying players with a sell on value, something Gill at Utd admired. But everything has changed in recent times, sadly.
Hector was injured, let’s say, a couple of weeks (i don’t have such a precise memory). He came back and played the week-end after. Mki was injured 2-3 weeks. He came back and played as a starter the following week-end. Ramsey is back from a 2 weeks injury. Wait and see if he’ll start or play tomorrow after let’s say 2-3 trainings. Suarez arrives, he trains 2-3 times, doesn’t know the league, hasn’t played for a while and is a sub in Manchester against City. Özil is injured 2 weeks around december. He comes back and waits 2 weeks until… Read more »
the question i have for ozil is, why not just try harder/run more/play solid defense? you have the offensive talent, just apply yourself and you’ll be back in the starting XI in no time
Yeah, not so sure about that. Sometimes a coach just doesn’t know how to use a certain player properly, or decides he doesn’t want to. Pulis and Gnabry come to mind.
At this point it doesn’t matter what Ozil does. That relationship is over.
Ozil has never been a good defender but he runs as hard as any other player
Get in. Hoping for the best of both to come out now. COYG
So Ozil who has played under 3 different world class managers without any complaints from any of them, who is loved and respected by almost all his teammates, and who had never had any disciplinary issues before is suddenly a stubborn, lazy player who decides when he’s fit and when he isn’t. Emery who has had issues with Neymar, Ben Arfa, Moura, and even Di Maria is now a great judge of character and should be believed more than Ozil who has been here for more than 5 years without such issues? It’s simple why people are bashing Ozil and… Read more »
Great U Turn Mr Emery…
Here’s my view on what is becoming a very boring face off. I don’t think Emery has a problem with Ozil. I don’t think Ozil has a problem with Emery. Remember all of those sick days taken by Mesut? I’m willing to bet after everything happened over the Summer (and maybe before), Ozil is having mental health difficulties. There maybe days he just can’t face going into training or cope with the spotlight of a match. As someone who has experienced mild difficulties myself, I can understand why Ozil wants to be out of the spot light until his head… Read more »
So it’s not “tactical reasons” anymore? What about the physicality of certain games? Now it’s all about commitment and consistency in training. What next?
I’m sorry, but when a man cannot keep his story straight, how can you believe what he says?
I don’t believe Emery at all and pointed this out a few weeks ago when he first came up with his “tactical reasons” excuse. In any case David Ornstein has already said that the club are trying to freeze Ozil out due to his wages and I would rather believe Ornstein over Emery any day.
Wouldn’t it just be nice if Ozil played really well whenever he is picked?
He actually played well when last picked, against Cardiff, despite the fact that he was pretty much the only player in the starting lineup offering any skill or invention. Some fans and pundits noticed this, but many didn’t, because sadly a significant chunk of fans and pundits don’t know how to watch football in a remotely intelligent way and so don’t know what they’re talking about when they “analyze” a match.
All we have been hearing from the club is “please leave’, so what kind of answer to an Ozil question should we expect? I’m resigned to the fact of his leaving, and more so, never seeing him play for us again. At least we might see him play somewhere else, and maybe then we can get more of the story behind the scenes. Short term, we really don’t need more negativity at this point in the season.
This will either work of backfire horribly.
But overall I would do the same. Push for more then push again.
What about everyone else? Why is it just Ozil all the time? Jeez he’s crucified when he plays & even when he doesn’t… really starting to pi*s me off now… there are 11 men in the team…
ffs sake let Ozil play, Emery’s acting like a cunt of a manger on a real power
Mesut is a player who makes my heart sing. I was over the moon when we signed him, and have loved him ever since. I admire him as a player and as a person, and always will. When we signed him I felt he was a talisman, and the start of a new, more successful era, and I don’t think it was a coincidence that we won our first FA Cup soon after he joined. Many will say he’s too flaky and inconsistent to be a talisman, but as a team we’ve been a bit flaky and inconsistent for a… Read more »
Nice, easy catch 22 for Emery to avoid criticism regarding Ozil’s selection (or not) in the side… he can default to something that no one outside the club could potentially verify.
So basically he’s s skiver lazy twat.
In regard to Ozil, there are three factors that come to mind; 1 – Part of Emery’s strategy is to have Arsenal fitter than our opponents. In case you question that, then why have we scored the great majority of our goals in the 2nd half? That’s also why we play out from the goalkeeper – it encourages the opponent to press and expend energy. If Ozil is bagging out of training now and then, he absolutely doesn’t fit our new level of fitness. 2 – Ozil used to have Cazorla behind him and Alexis in front. Those two guys… Read more »
Regarding 3, I’m just going to shamelessly rip part of Ballz’s comment from above: “Also, I just looked up the stats, and Ozil’s average tackles per game since he’s been with us is 0.8, Hazard’s is 0.4, Silva’s is 1, and Eriksen’s is 1.2. ” Ozil is never going to be the enforcer in the team, biting into tackles, but the numbers show he doesn’t do much less than expected. If he can get a good run of games in the side, I would back him to get back to his best. Class like his doesn’t just disappear because a… Read more »
That’s not a great use of that stat. It actually backs up the point Dave Roberts is making by showing that Özil is in the extremely low range for tackles per game. An average of 0.8 tackles over 90 mins is nothing. It means in some games, players in that range make no tackles at all. Dave Roberts’ whole comment is great but the 2nd point is crucial – Özil is really missing Alexis and Santi on the pitch. Those players encourage him to make more forward runs because he knew they could pick him out. The best version of… Read more »
Ozil can be a great player, Bob, providing he’s willing to adapt his play to the new manager’s scheme. kasius is correct in negating your comparative stats. Emery has talked time after time about how he wants the team to play and work harder. Picking three guys who have similar low tackle rates and then claiming that he’s doing enough doesn’t work. Those players are on different teams that have don’t have Emery’s strategy of outworking their opponents. Ozil isn’t playing because he isn’t practising consistently and playing hard enough on Defense. Maybe you and I see his play differently,… Read more »
Regards to #1 We may be getting “fitter” under emery but that isn’t the reason we are better in the second half. We are better because we go into the beginning of the game with the wrong tactics to begin with or players. What was refreshing at the beginning of the season with clear halftime tactical changes or subs at half or soon afterwards unlike wengers 70min subs isn’t anymore. It shows how much he is getting it wrong from the beginning. Regards #2 He does go back and initiate the buildup after it’s clear no one else in the… Read more »
Has he not been applying himself fully to training?
He played decent during the 19 game unbeaten run I felt.
We have either Ozil or Ramsey who we cam use tomorrow to add creativity up top.
We will likely face stiff resistance so we will need the creativity
Sad to see the usual biased comments when it’s anything related to Ozil. Even though fans are being told why Ozil hasn’t played and truthfully should know if they have eyes in their heads to see his performances, still it’s Emery. The frankly boring and inaccurate stance that “he can’t handle big egos” is tosh…TOSH! Read the book by Romain Molina or even do some research using Google and check out Emery’s record as a manager and you will see he has worked with plenty of big players and he handled them perfectly fine. Neymar is just Neymar. Based on… Read more »