“Still, the situation is as it was before.”
That was Mikel Arteta’s short answer on Sunday night when asked if Matteo Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil might return to the squad for Tuesday’s game with Leicester.
The Frenchman has been unceremoniously dropped since the 2-1 defeat to Brighton for ‘squad management’ purposes while the German has been suffering from a back problem.
We could pad this article out with another 400 words, but frankly, it’s a boring topic, so we won’t bother.
Washed or not – we do need Ozil’s creativity in the final third.
Guendouzi needs a reality check. Either he gets on board or he leaves.
We need prime Ozil’s creativity, not the semi-retired version
Best ever comment.
Yeah, that’s as far down as I’m reading today on this one — well said.
People are mad. This is the same guy who was running United, Chelsea, Newcastle ragged before the lockdown. Why do people have such short memories?
Honestly mate, don’t bother. They know nothing about the game. They’re to be pitied. What’s more, I’ve been accused of ‘abuse’ (yeah, I swear a bit, most people who used to stand on the North Bank did) yer had people insult my son and another poster insinuate that I was abused as a child (Snagger, That was you) Why? Because I merely think this team’s chances of success, especially against the top teams, would benefit from having Mesut Ozil In and Mustafi out. I’ve supported Arsenal Football Club since 1971 and probably forgotten more about Arsenal than the kids on… Read more »
His last and current managers seem to think he’s a waste of space. But yeah, what would they know?
He was playing under Arteta before the lockdown. After lockdown and his refusal för a pay cut be stopped playing. So I’m pretty sure it’s the boards decision.
Yeah cos we are doing terrible without him. Winning four on the bounce
Ozil is average + way past his best
I agree with the second but not the first part of your comment. Ozil is way past his best and it would be good if he moved on. But Ozil was also one of the best in the world in creativity and control. The best of Ozil was better than De Bruyne in threading the needle with his passing. Even if he still has some fraction of the old Ozil left in him, he should still feature before the end of the season.
Better than De Bruyne…..come on now. Do you really believe that?
Good question
Look at De Bruyne’s goals and defensive work over the same period. Comparing him to Ozil is bit silly.
Mesut was great with assists about 2-3 years ago and hasn’t even done that lately. Actually, he hasn’t done much since he resigned that silly contract…Arsenal should just buy him out to get rid of his bad attitude.
I agree with everything you said but your assessment that he was better than De Bruyne.
When he came to Arsenal he was the most creative player in the country. The fastest player to 50 assists and we started winning trophies again. Some people have a very short memory. Yes he was at that time better than De Bruyne
At his best, there was no one better in terms of chance creation. However I feel like De Bruyne has always offered significantly more in terms of possession retention and game management
De Bruyne can also hit a screamer from 25 yards & has the power/pace to burst by players. He is terrifying for defenders because he can hurt you in so many different ways. Ozil at his best could match him in terms of passing…..but De Bruyne now is without any question a better player than Ozil was at his peak.
I firmly disagree. Ozil was voted German player of the year on 6 occasions and in his prime his vision and creativity was something that De Bruyne could only dream of. Yes there is no doubt who is the better player now but the genius of Ozil in his prime puts him in a different class
‘his vision and creativity was something that De Bruyne could only dream of. ‘
I give up. This comment is proof (if any were still needed) that it is pointless arguing with people on the internet cos they will say absolutely anything to try to prove their point, regardless of how ridiculous it is. Total & utter nonsense.
He never had the scoring potential of DeBruyne and also lacked the defensive awareness of DeBruyne. Don’t be silly.
“The best of Ozil was better than De Bruyne in threading the needle with his passing”
Just his passing, that’s what was meant. But at both their primes, I’d take prime De Bruyne over prime Ozil in a heartbeat.
Unfortunately he’s a relic of a style of football that no longer exists. Midfielders need to have an all round game willing to cover ground defend create and score. Ozil has failed to adapt, he no longer belongs apart of the 1st 11.
Ozil was *9th* on our team in expected assists per 90 this season. Thats despite being our #10 and on set piece duty. He wasn’t in the top 100 of PL players. He’s done at this level.
That’s just not true. He had so many pre assists because he was playing from deeper because we have no one in midfield with proper technical ability, vision, ball carrying ability and ability to release quickly. That’s why he created the most chances in the squad despite fewer minutes than most other midfielders and attackers. Play a midfielder behind him who can do that job and he won’t have to and can concentrate on the final third.
Ozil is best when he’s afforded the license to float around cause mayhem in the final third but that can only happen if the team is dominating. He’d probably have 20 odd assists if he played for City or Barca for example. Not sure if De Bruyne would be so excellent playing for our current team.
However, we aren’t dominating at the moment and Arteta has every right to set up our tactics and formations to maximise our players’ strengths and if that means Ozil stays home then so be it.
He would never get into City or Barca as no one plays a non scoring number 10 with no defensive duties. The closest in terms of having no defensive duties is Messi, but you get 40-50 goals to go with the 20 assists.
So you would like an ozil who is washed to young players who though not the finished article are giving their all and with good attitude if I may add
I could pad this comment out with another five words but I won’t bother.
Sick!
I was hoping the first line would be all there was to it as I read it
Wouldn’t it be easier if you referred to Mesut and Matteo as M&Ms?
Sweet.
Sulk and sulkier
Raul & Co are trying to push Ozil out ever since Arsene was sacked. Nothing new there. I am just concerned that Arteta going along with this tactic (also dictated to Emery btw) is not a good sign of character.
Come off it mate. Ozil had coasted through the last three seasons. Mik had said all along he’s only interested in players who are up for it, and that has never been Ozil’s strong point.
I thought Ozil was find under Arsene. He was also great for Maureen at Real. Man management is vital in football. Great managers can get the best out of all kinds and bad ones just try to impose themselves on the difficult characters or the superstars (look at Emery and Neymar).
So is Mik trying to impose himself on the superstar, or is he going along with a tactic being dictated to him? You’re contradicting yourself.
Good job for PSG that Neymar has been so flawlessly behaved since Emery left eh? Not a hint of an issue with any of his teammates, management, club owners, fans, the media or referees since.
Neymar still has the world to play for, hence easier to motivate. Inadequate comparison
99% of people want ozil out the only 1% that don’t have a strange love for him and are blind to his performances
I am in the middle. I do want him to go but if we’re stuck with him (which is probably the case) I want Arteta to grind out something that resembles the Ozil of old.
Good to see you finally posting impartial results of that amazingly run poll. 99% was all your GI Joes and superhero figurines. 1% was your cat.
Why not also believe that Arteta himself may have assessed Ozil on his own and has decided not to be using him.Must you link it to Raul and others in the Arsenal hierarchy?
Those are the rules of the witch-hunt
If Ozil has a genuine back problem this is a moot point. Otherwise it’s a shame Arteta can’t get the best out of him as at this best he’s fantastic, one of my favorite players to watch. However he’s still just one player, Arteta appears to be making progress and I’m more concerned with how he brings together this exciting crop of young players and builds a real team spirit going forward.
Sorry to see Guendouzi go as I thought he had great potential, but I trust Arteta far more than I trust him, so get with it or get out. Özil should have gone years ago. I can’t believe we’re still paying him.
For Douzie, maybe Arteta just needed to raise money to buy his own players especially one who can score from midfield. Being a manager is doing dirty jobs at times.
He wouldn’t throw a good kid under the bus
It’s the non-negotiablez!!!
I really want to know what else is wrong with Guendouzi. Seems like this isn’t just down to the Brighton incident.
Is it something similar to what happened in Dubai?
Frank Lampard was ready to forgive Hudson-Odoi because we all make errors at his age, he said. In terms of behavior, we’re not even talking the same league when you compare Douzie to Odoi. This is why I am sure, it is quite convenient for Arteta to make it a discipline issue.
What matters is not the error, but what you do after making that error. I trust Arteta.
In Emery’s reign he did get a lot of game time and prolly has developed an air of superiority. He can be potentially our best CM of the current lot it’s true. He will(has to) sort it out or become a never was like Rabiot.
I was so happy when he came to arsenal, I’ll be equally happy when he leaves.
Time to get rid of dead wood ozil PLEASE LEAVE I BEG YOU
Ozil pretty much already left, after his bumper contract that is, we just keep talking him up. He can’t be arsed to do anything other than earn and sit
If they were producing then you could make the case that we will outscore the opposition.
But they aren’t.
So defensive solidity and teamwork comes first.
It is the same logic as Unai but for some reason it feels very different under Mikel.
Not different at all. It just that we are supportive of the current guy.
Mikel has made it crystal clear what the situation is. There’s no scope for Ozils PR team to paint this any other way. I think the fans were on Emery’s side initially (except the Ozil nuthuggers who are Ozil fans first and Arsenal fans by proxy) but he muddied his own waters with his inability to communicate clear and consistent messages to the fans and evidently the players. Ozils PR machine took full advantage and capitalised on every weak moment to put pressure on Emery. Arteta has never given him the chance and examples of AMN and Ceballos show he’s… Read more »
Good stuff but Not just his time with Pep, his entire career especially in his Deep lying midfielder position is training for man management when you have the personality likes of Ronaldo playing ahead of you
Sorry but in terms of man management Pep isn’t a reference. Samuel Eto’o, Zlatan even Henry think he was lousy in this area. He simply stops talking to you if he does see you as part of his favorite players anymore.
On the other hand, Pep is the Michael Jordan of football tactics.
….if he doesn’t see you as part his favorite players…..
I’m not saying I’m right and you’re wrong, but notoriously difficult ego’s like those 3 you’ve mentioned don’t make for a compelling case to me.
And besides, it’s not to say Arteta is a carbon copy of Pep. When I say learned from Pep, I’d fully expect someone as intelligent as Arteta to take what he likes and drop what he doesn’t and make it his own.
It feels different because under Mikel we are actually organized as a team. Emery just stuck into the team bunch of “defensive minded” players which in reality has nothing to do with defensive solidity and teamwork.
Haha under Unai it seemed like our players only knew what “Plan A” was. Anything that threw a spanner at Plan A made our players looked hopelessly lost.
Unai had inferior communication skills and football knowledge, but similar guy.
I am amazed how much this fanbase want Ozil to be the bad guy just because they want to be right. All credible journalists said that there was nothing between him and Arteta. There is a clearly a different reason between Ozil and Guendouzi situation. All things he said about Guendouzi were pretty straight forward. If something happend between him and Ozil, then so be it but can we just stop making it a big deal before every game. He really lives rent free in some peoples heads.
There is a difference in that it appears there was an actual incident with Guendouzi….but there is clearly an issue with Ozil too. Otherwise he would have played more than zero minutes since the restart? Not sure how you can argue otherwise. Maybe not an actual incident, but if he was doing the ‘non negotiables’ he would be involved.
I certainly believe that he wasn’t physically ready when he came back after lockdown. Which is probably the main issue but some people clearly want him to be the bad guy who makes an unrest inside the team. He didn’t even play a minute since the football is back but the only thing we talk about is Ozil. Why do we always need a scapegoat? The boss didn’t suddenly change his mind about Ozil who played every league game under him before the virus. Arteta’s words were also “he has been through a lot”. I also don’t get why the… Read more »
I believe he is injured now…..but he wasn’t for the first 3 games was he ? Most are not making him a scapegoat – people are just believing the manager is doing the right thing by not picking him (on the basis that he wouldn’t leave him out unless he had a reason) same as they are about Guendouzi.
Aren’t you contributing to making the conversation only about Ozil just as much as anyone else? So, you know, maybe just stop ?
Yes, I meant for the first 3 games which were played in a space of a week. I totally agree that he clearly wasn’t performing on the traininig for whatever reason. I think we both agree here.
Player wasn’t fit enough as just had a baby (just like Xhaka who wanted a month off). Player tries to get fit and aggravates his reoccurring back injury. This is often how injuries occur when you’re trying to get back in shape quickly, possibly reduced core strength. That’s my best guess anyway and anyone who says they know the facts 100% is lying to suit their emotional position.
Yeah it’s crazy. They’re strawmanning the hell out of the situation to suit their agenda. Anyone who can see his ability is an “Ozil fan” and not an Arsenal fan. What the hell are they talking about? Arteta says he’s injured so he’s injured. People need to go back and watch every single one of our goals scored under Arteta and look how many of them have an Ozil pre-assist. It’s loads. I think it’s just extremists who have been waiting for their opportunity to pounce. I mean they slaughtered him for holding an umbrella. FFS. Just transport yourself back… Read more »
I think more people defending Ozil have talked about the umbrella than those who allegedly ‘slaughtered’ him for it. I don’t know a single Gooner who cared even remotely about it…and that covers people who want him gone a lot more than I do. Srrawmanning indeed.
The point is that Ozil has offered very little in the last few years. I know Arteta gave him a lot of support, but what of substance did he give back?
Someone please translate ‘non negotiable’ to these two.
non négociable and nicht verhandelbar I used Google translate so may not be correct.
Don’t think the team is anywhere dominant enough to carry a player like Ozil. All 11 players have to have defensive output. Mesut just doesn’t have that in him. At most he’s an option from the bench if we come up against a parked bus, but teams never play that way against us.
Someone clearly forgot that he actually played all league games under Arteta (and Man Utd masterclass) in which we were actually defensively stable. In the last 4 league games before the virus we had 3 clean sheets.
Ozil not doing the defensive output and not running enough is a football myth. It is all about organization and is up to manager to get the best from his players. If Ozil is not doing the non-negotable, the reason is underperforming in the training and has nothing to do with games and tactics.
You misunderstand. Mesut works his hole off when he plays, in terms of distance covered per match he’s one of the leaders in the team. He just doesn’t have any interception or tackling ability. His pressing is ineffective. Arteta clearly wants the team the press effectively and maybe Ozil has not bought into that.
Yeah i understand both points. I too am abit puzzled why we saw alot of Ozil pre covid and not after. Maybe he really wasn’t fit during the restart and you can blame that on him for not keeping fit during the lockdown. Ozil’s distance covered is misleading on the actual value it brings. When we’re on the ball he does a lot of good running to pull teams into uncomfortable positions. Off the ball his running only seems to block out passing channels slightly. I still feel like Ozil has some value but it seems like we’ve found a… Read more »
Otoh his problem is interest and seeing a point for playing. He’s a rich motherfucker, we just might reignite the competitor in him playing this new way.
Probably unpopular opinion
Since Mikel leaves the door open for him, it’s possible he becomes reinterested when we get back to the top playing like we did yesterday. Mesit has won everything and I can imagine he isn’t thrilled about busting his back daily for an average team when it doesn’t mean shit except to us fans. Football esp in EPL takes effort and drive.
Question is will Mikel accept this (if you didn’t stick with us in bad times, you want to thrive with us) ? I think he’d understand
I could imagine that to be the case and while it is not very professional, it would certainly be understandable on a human level. But what would have been the first thing to do, if I was unhappy playing for a PL “midtable” team and would feel destined to do greater things? The club was clearly willing to let him go last summer, so I’d ring my management and tell them to get Real, Barca, Juve, Inter, Bayern, PSG, … to buy a great player like me, so I get rid of midtable mediocrity.. Maybe that even happened, but I… Read more »
As much I admire Ozil’s skills he has never been consistent enough for the wages we pay him, mistake to extend his contract and let Rambo go as we all know, Gendousi is a problem only Mik can sort out, great potential or one trick pony with attitude problem ? who knows, a young player in a Elneny mould who at least puts the ball forward but has that shielding/falling over thing he does which stops our forward momento, they both have qualities for sure but can they buy in to Miks agenda..only time will tell at the end of… Read more »
Rambo misses even more games due to injury unfortunately. Once your hamstrings go a few times it’s usually a downward slope and they keep getting pulled. With the money fair enough it’s a ridiculous wage but signing Emery was the bigger mistake. If you’re going to pay someone that much you set the team up around him. We did the complete opposite. And on the commercial side we maybe don’t get the Adidas and Rwanda deals without him here and Auba may not have signed either. He is by far our biggest international star, he’s known all over the world… Read more »
Guendouzi is a headstrong kid. What I can’t understand is Özil. Surely he must realize any retrospective assessment of his career is going to be coloured by these last three years?! He’s trashing his own legacy. Apparently, he just doesn’t give a shit.
Ozil is lazy.
Quite happy to see out his contract cos he knows no-one will pay him that wage if he went!
So we are stuck with him unfortunately.
Ozil isn’t headstrong? (As if that’s a manageable evil…) He left the national team when he felt singled out unfairly. Ozil hasn’t been our best player in 2 years easy sure. Has he been our worst? Our biggest problem? Arsenal fans obsess over things like no one else. Wenger out. Emery out. Xhaka out. Msutafi out. Luiz out. Joel Campbell world-class. Eboue asshole. Iwobi hopeless. Ozil can’t be sold till the end of season. People asking/begging/insulting him to leave ought to be ashamed. It is not Ozil’s fault that he was given this contract. Just like it won’t be Auba’s… Read more »
Seriously, I’d like to keep Guendouzi but if he can’t manage expectations, may as well sell. One potential solution is to have him on loan next season to a strong CL club. See how he develops in a year and hopefully we are back into the top tier European competition. Other issue of course is Granit also will be slightly older so if he impresses on loan, maybe room in squad although if Granit continues to perform, prob better to keep on for an extra season or two for leadership. The other thing towatch of course is who we bring… Read more »
Since Ozil signed the big contract, I recall a couple of amazing dummies and the Fulham game. He probably still has it, but doesn’t seem motivated.
Exactly. Motivation
So what did Guendouzi do?
Three managers now saw a problem with Ozil. Maybe there is one. Just saying.
Pad it! PAD IT!!!!! I want more info on both of those topics. Like, what part of Özils back. Is he taking robaxacet, or has the backologist given him a script. Is Guendouzi managing a squad and that is why he is gone?
For me, it’s kinda seems that Ozil’s head simply isn’t here. For that reason alone, and for his own sake, he needs a change of scenery. I read the comments of an article here a couple of weeks back where someone mentioned he might be dealing with mental health issues, compounded by the other attention he (unfortunately or fortunately) brings to himself. There might be some truth to this, especially after the German media narrative after their world cup failure, which was frankly disgusting given how bad their entire team were, and how he was the one who was somehow… Read more »
I think Ozil knows himself, highly intelligent guy surrounded by highly intelligent people eg his agent
That really is a top post and includes many points that I wanted to share, but ultimately couldn’t be bothered . (Had I posted them, they would probably have invited ridicule from the usual suspects with an anti Ozil agenda, but hey, whatever. This page is what it is, the good the bad and the downright ugly). Anyway, great post. ?
I thoroughly enjoyed the intelligent and focused way that Arteta and the squad dealt with the challenge that a very good Wolves team posed, it was a fabulous win and at no time during the 90 minutes did Ozil or Guendouzi cross my mind. Arteta has in both his words and actions shown that he will include anyone who buys into his project and those that have bought in to it are doing just fine. Those that aren’t buying into the Arteta project have their own reasons, but I’m personally 100% behind the manager. I have no idea where Guendouzi… Read more »
I don’t think we miss either of them
Arsenal fans don’t respect either coach or players. Just use and throw. How much they disregard Arsene Wenger, is a shame. Now they are doing same with Özil. Alexis Sanches was very good at Arsenal and the duo of Özil and Sanchez was lethal to break any defence but Arsenal could not hold on Sanchez and now Arsenal is at 7th position, just not acceptable.
Ungrateful, short-sighted bitter fucks many of us sadly. We live in a post-AFTV world.
One entirely unproven theory is that instead of injury or tactics, the Ozil affair is political: Ozil might not be too keen to kneel for BLM, given how his (remarkably similar) request for condemnation of China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims was handled by the club. Would be curious to hear Mikel’s response to this if a journalist had the sense to ask him.
https://www.gettyimages.ie/detail/news-photo/mesut-ozil-and-david-luiz-of-arsenal-take-a-knee-in-support-news-photo/1248795345
Evidence > Theory. Thanks.
A picture is better than thousand words.
Burn
One entirely unproven theory about BLM haters is they make up false narratives and lies about it, for example ‘BLM now influences team selection at my club’
But there would have been more than 400 if Emery was the manager, right?
I still think it’s crazy how much support Ozil gets fro our fan base, he downed tools years ago and is bleeding us dry until he can leave for free, he’s a parasite
Hahahahahaha. Let me know if you want some leftover bread for your meal since Ozil ate your porridge.
I have no idea what your even trying to say…
Ozil and Matteo are clearly not that good at abiding by the non-negotiobles. Shame, but it is what it is.
Watching back highlights of old matches in the days of Alexis, I barely recognised Ozil. I forgot what an outstanding player he was.
The excessive contract ruined a great talent.
The way Arsenal is treating Ozil is bad if he goes to a top club we’ll be sorry for letting him go and please don’t sell Guendouzi there’s a reason Barcelona want him
Arteta should give Ozil a chance at least, if you want creativity in midfield, you need Ozil, he is a Magician, the whole world knows, but still I just don’t know what problem Arteta has with Ozil, he is just destroying his career ??