According to the Independent, Mesut Ozil has an outside chance of playing against Fulham in Arsenal’s first game of 2019.
Having featured against Burnley and Brighton, the German missed the 5-1 defeat to Liverpool two days ago with a knee complaint.
Asked about Ozil at Anfield, Unai Emery said: “[It’s] His knee. I don’t know if it’s big or not big, but it’s his knee.”
It sounds like the player is still being assessed at this point, but given the opposition – Fulham concede even more goals than we do and are in 19th place – Unai Emery might fancy giving the midfielder a runout if he’s on the mend.
Tomorrow’s match will likely come too soon for Nacho Monreal (hamstring), Hector Bellerin (calf) and Emile Smith Rowe (hip) and although Dinos Mavropanos is back in full training he could probably do with some game time with the under-23s before pitching for a first-team place.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (broken metatarsal), Danny Welbeck (ankle), Rob Holding (ACL) are all longer-term absentees.
In all likelihood, we’ll have the same guys who played at Anfield. Hopefully, this time the lads won’t play like they’ve been pumped full of pigs-in-blankets and sherry.
Update – Arsenal says both Monreal and Bellerin are being assessed ahead of tomorrow’s game. They’ve been spotted in the training pictures alongside Robert Pires, but it remains to be seen whether they are risked.
Ozil now assessed. Verdict: “Workshy Fop”
I for one hope he’s sold before the kick off time.
Sorry to offend the Ozil army.
Yes I am offended. And are so many Arsenal fans! Dont be biased. Dont be blinded. And dont be influenced by others out there whose motivation is just plain jealousy and hatred.
Go to Arsenal best top 5 goals scored in 2018 and see who you see the most….the one you want to be sold.
Im not asking you. To join the “Özil army” but be more fair in your assessment
https://www.arsenal.com/news/who-scored-our-best-goal-2018#
Ozil has some truly magical moments – no one should doubt that. The main issue is his inconsistency – there are far too many Southhampton type games where he contributes virtually nothing. I love Ozil but also think that the team would be better off with someone more consistent even if he doesn’t quite produce the occasional magic moment that Ozil does. Particularly as Ozil’s best moments increasingly come against lower tier opposition. If Emery has decided that can’t be fixed, then it’s time to move on as having a 350k a week bit part player simply doesn’t work with… Read more »
It’s one thing to not create anything when runs are made and another when the attackers remain static waiting for a pass to feet. There’s only so much a player who’s tasked to stay deeper as a playmaker to put in passes to our attackers, can do. Imo most of our players don’t make attacking runs, so it’s really hard for Ozil to “shine”. All he can do is help to recycle possession until a chance presents itself. Perhaps the blame can be laid on our midfield for not releasing it quicker to Ozil so that we can counter attack… Read more »
I see this point, and I understand it. But this is also why I would prefer someone like a Rosicky-type. Maybe not as creative as Ozil (though not a slouch himself), but when Rosicky had the ball and couldn’t see any passes as everyone was standing there, he would take the initiative to cause some cause and run at the defence. He would crank up the tempo for 0 to 100 real cause and run amok, and in doing so, create space for others. So would I want someone he has slightly reduced massing ability in exchange for someone who… Read more »
Agreed. We need a dribbler in the middle. My imaginary Ozil replacement has been Modric or Hazard or Santi 2.0, so I’m right there with ya. Someone like that to link up with Torreira, now we’re talkin.
We have the ideal player to link up with Torreira.we need new players I agree though
You are talking about the same Southampton game where the coach started three CBs against a piss poor team rotting in the bottom half of the of the league, playing two CMs and sacrificing an attacking outlet? Same Southampton game where Ozil came in with 20 minutes left on the clock? We had a lot of problems against Southampton and if we are all being honest with ourselves, Mesut Ozil wasn’t in the top ten. That loss was the Huddersfield game all over again. We were passive and toothless. Southampton just took their chances and we didn’t have a magical… Read more »
In 42 PL games he’s played between last year and this year, Ozil has 7 goals and 9 assists. That wouldn’t even put him in the top 15 in assists. Ramsey for instance has 8 goals & 14 assists in 43 games. Just to put this into context given Ozil is one of the highest paid PL stars – Raheem Sterling has 27 goals & 17 assists Kevin Debruyne has 9 goals & 16 assists (despite sitting out most of this year) Christian Erickson 13 goals & 13 assists Eden Hazard 22 goals & 13 assists Worth pointing out that… Read more »
Well…it might interest you to know that part of the reason Ozil is on such huge salary is because of his social media presence which means that he rakes in a lot of money for the club from jersey sales and what have you. Also, the arsenal board allowed his contract run down thereby putting him in a stronger position to negotiate a bumper deal. You can’t blame the fellow.
Ozil stepped over the ball and allowed Southampton to break on us, but no you’re right he wasn’t one of the problems!
It’s interesting, I watched West Ham Southampton and Anderson (clearly their best player) was anonymous in first half and then came up with two moments of class and West Ham won. Their were many games a certain Dennis Bergkamp was poor and then came with a moment of genius. In the last 18 months the only 3 players ahead of Ozil for chances created are Hazard Erickson and De Bruyne. Not bad for a player who is apparently missing.
Yeah fuck that noise. I can live without a higlight reel of “genius” plays against the stellar cast of Burnley and Fulham and Ludogrets. I’d rather have James Milner than Mesut Ozil. One is always there and turns up when you need them while the other is the kind of guy who maybe might turn up if he feels like it and then maybe might play well if he feels like it. The money we waste on the luxury that is the occasional good Mesut Ozil performance could see us buy players who WILL actually play and WILL actually perform… Read more »
I got no problem with you personally bro but… 1. Ozil is hugely underperforming -as he does. 2. He has no place in the formation 3. THE MANAGER does not trust him 4. He literally has not turned up to training this season 5. He literally has not turned up to games even in the crowd because of his issues with Emery. 6. He goes missing in every big game we play 7. He is overpaid his contract is what has caused Ramsey to leave and why we’re looking at cheap options like Cahill. 8. It has been said multiple… Read more »
Number 4 – and you know this how? If you’re going to write things like that then you lose the crowd as it is patently ridiculous, no matter what merit some of your points may have.
I don’t think Özil deserves this hate… or plain blindness for what he has done for the club and his constant good attitude. Well… fans or so called…
Is it hate? I don’t hate Mesut. But has he been good value since he signed the new contract…not really. Whose fault is it that he signed a new contract…not Emery. People cried for change but now seem unable to accept that change may mean losing players that we like. We’ve got a long way to go before we are anywhere near Liverpool or teams of that ilk. The saddest thing for me as a fan is that our fan base is actually ingrained into a way of thinking that is making our new manager’s job really difficult…he’s damned whatever… Read more »
Well we can’t expect him to win us every game. He isn’t surrounded by players who perform consistently or are world class. He is the only world class player we have and our best creative player. He maybe overpaid but he offers more value as opposed to Mhkitaryan. We have a long way to go. I just hope we make that champions league place because we don’t have an owner who is willing to invest.
I’m sure all those around the world whose lives are being ruined by others because of their colour, religion or sexual preference are in awe of how Ozil copes with the ‘hate’ shown towards him. Imagine being a professional footballer & some people think you are less good at your job than others do. The horror of it.
Why is this turning into a race issue? Ozil is underperforming. we watch football to be entertained and back our teams, and if players in this team arent giving 100% and act like babies then they shouldn’t be a part of a squad.
Speak for England, hustle6… and tell us how you REALLY feel 😉
Hustle6
I can’t stop at number 7 and I stopped there as i’m Astonished that we have only just started looking at cheap options like Gary Cahill. Laughing my ass off.
No 9 – Sir Stanley Matthews it is said, did the same thing, picked & chose his matches & opposition to play against. He played till he was ’50’! god help us.
Kind of sums up the Ozil problem though. Capable of these flashes of brilliance but they’re increasingly few and far between and too often goes missing or doesn’t do basic work off the ball (I still don’t understand how his talent means he is above this). I don’t think it’s that black or white but the people who seem to think all criticism of Ozil is that we don’t “get” him or it’s jealously or whatever seem increasingly the more blinkered of the two
If what you’re looking for at the end of the season is “The club with the player with the best highlights reel” Then Ozil is your man…. If what you want from a player is 100% commitment? And as your highest paid player he drops 7/10s week in week out, with the odd 8/10 mixed in? Then Ozil certainly isn’t your man. He’s inconsistent, he looks disinterested and despite being given the captaincy and plenty of opportunities, he’s been stinking the place out for a very long time. I’ve just read Unai Emery “El Maestro” and reading what other ppl… Read more »
It also says that he isn’t very good with top players. He himself has said that he needs to step up to the next level. Maybe part of that step up to the next level is accepting that some players are capable of seeing the game for themselves and don’t need every move analysed, with him shouting at them all the time. Mesut isn’t the strongest player there is, but give him some movement in front of him and he’ll find it. He is committed to the team, he’s just going through a really bad patch at the moment, you… Read more »
it is clear that ozil is suffering from depression. his body language advertises this fact
That’s a bit stupid. He’s doing his best without complaining. Is it unfortunate that our best player doesn’t fit into our new managers vision: Yes, obviously. However, whar to do about it all depends on what we can get for him and how much wages we’d actually save. If the best we could find is somebody to pay 20% of his wages for example, then keeping him around as a ‘squad’ player actually makes a damn lot of sense. If you’re pissed at our bad handling of contracts anf negotiations, we’re losing much more money on the Ramsey stupidity than… Read more »
Ramsey is a bit of a screwy one – it seems really unlikely that the teams he is being linked with (Bayern, PSG, Juventus etc.) would be interested if they had to pay a significant transfer fee. Part of the reason he’s attractive is they know if they get him on a free they could simply sell him back to the PL if he doesn’t work out. If we had tied him down to a large contract then I’m not sure there would have been a lot of interested parties in the PL to sell to that he would want… Read more »
I really agree with this point of view. Before he became a free agent he wasn’t being linked with Juve etc. He’s worth a punt to them and I think he will be a great asset.
Not complaining? What about the reports of arguing with the manager, or how whenever he’s seemingly benched for a big game he’s not in the squad at all?
Reports Bob, just reports. No facts Bob, maybe you and your ilk should try to ascertain the difference.
“You and your ilk”… I’m starting to think Ozil is a cult leader
Starting to think you’re a bit of a John Terry Bob
Please stop saying: Ozil, our best player. Henry was and this was clear to the entire world. Whether we like RVP or not, he was in his last few years with Arsenal. Hope Auba makes it clear to you this season.
I think we need to be very careful about how we deal with this Mesut Ozil situation. He is a fucking class footballer on his day, he’s an extremely unique player. There genuinely aren’t that many players out there that have the capabilities to spot a pass like he does. Or have the ability to create something out of nothing at the drop of a hat to win you a game. And this myth going around that he doesn’t show up in the big games is a bit ridiculous as well. He does. He’s scored away at Old Trafford. He’s… Read more »
Proud to be a member of the “Özil army”. The best creative midfielder in the premier league by a country mile.
Still about 9.5 hrs till 00:00 in Germany, just would like to wish all users in advance a very Happy New Year.. may the new year bring fortune and success for us and Arsenal
The one thing I don’t get with all these Ozil mystery illnesses and drops is….why doesn’t he still attend?
Even I dropped and you don’t like it, why not still be around to support the rest of the lads? (like how he wasn’t at the league Derby)? Or if it is an injury (serious or minor), surely that doesn’t mean you can’t travel with the squad and show face/support?
That’s the thing I really don’t get.
Not very hard to get. He just gives a shit.
He was at both the Spurs cup game (camera was on him by the dugout) that he was tactically dropped for and at the Huddersfield game (instagram of some kid in his box with him)
COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!! ???⚽️ #YaGunnersYa #COYG #LIVARS @Arsenal @premierleague
Traduire le Tweet
18:30 – 29 déc. 2018
It’s not about doubting Ozil’s caliber. When you leave your highest paid player, your star man out of the squad for “tactical reasons” for more than one match, despite him being fit enough to start and even play the full 90, then that is never healthy. No top-class player would want to stay at a club where he’s dropped for games for such reasons. And no club management would want to pay a 350k salary to a player who the manager wishes not to start in games with such an excuse. So, overall, it’s Emery saying I’m not going to… Read more »
If we start throwing managers under the bus for the sake of players then we really are doomed. Mourinho was a particularly clever and nasty sociopath who can function well enough to convince clubs to pay him millions of pounds in compensation after he’s reduced a club and its players to their knees. Emery isn’t that guy. He genuinely wants to get Arsenal CL football through top 4 or Europa League. If we want to start hiring and sacking managers every season then we might as well looked forward to mid table obscurity something that even in his poorest form… Read more »
Little bit being sold in January niggle? For all his talent I’ve really come to think moving on Ozil will be important if we want to change the identity of this team. He really embodies so much of what I have loved and been frustrated by arsenal of recent years in equal measure.
We’re suppose to be one of the best attacking teams around! Yet we cannot seem to integrate one of the best creative players of the modern era into our team. Something is seriously wrong somewhere. On another note! Can someone please tell me what Steve Bould does at Arsenal? Because he surely is not teaching those guys the Art of defending. If they are all incompetent, ship them off.
If your manager cant integrate the best playmaker in the world into the team you dont change your playmaker you change your manager. As simple as that.
Yeah well,it’s over tbh.Once a player is done with most of the fanbase its hard to swing them back in favor (mustafi,ramsey,xhaka) .Hope a decent European club with CL aspiration comes in for him.We’ll get the money and he can start fresh and earn redemption.Not gonna wish a Chinese club on him,too good for that lot.
Some said the same about Ronaldinho, Yaya and Deco when Pep came in and wanted to ship them out too.
You forgot Eto’o and Ibra. Pep kicked all of them out.
Why weren’t to teams queuing up to sign him when he had 6 months to go on his contract? No10 is a passenger these days and his injuries are starting to stack up.
People who are Ozil lover’s completely overlook this argument. As said before I don’t hate Ozil and I always thought he would stay, but the price for him staying is ridiculous and now we are paying the price for Ivan’s (at the very least) incompetence…no wonder he jumped ship to Milan.
Ridiculously Overrated.
Ozil at Arsenal 212 – Appearances (more games than Ramsey) 41 – Goals 73 – Assists more than any other player in England since 2013 (Fastest player to 50 assists in EPL hisyory) 458 – Chances created in the premier league before this season (leads every player in England since 2013 including this season, is the fastest to 400 total in EPL history) I know he is persona non grata for British people, but I can’t ignore the facts that are right in front of my eyes. I see the assists, the chances created, the key passes, the chances created,… Read more »
It has always make me laugh that Ramsey said Özil is Wenger’s teacher pet and that he obtains anything he wants. How can Ramsey know when Mesut is in Wenger’s room to ask for anything? Was he behind the door?
Doesn’t matter.Selling Ozil more suitable for AFC and Emery.I would rather have him but keeping him here and hoping that he can suit Emery is a bigger gamble than selling him for a decent prize and building a team that Emery wants.That doesn’t make Ozil a bad player.He is in a Pogba situation but in our case losing the star player makes far more sense.
For further statsy context: Ramsey at Arsenal: 354 appearances. 61 goals + 63 assists. That’s roughly a goal or assist every 2.8 games. EPL only: 251 appearances. 37 goals + 51 assists. Also roughly a goal or assist every 2.8 games. Ozil at Arsenal: 212 appearances. 41 goals + 73 assists. That’s roughly a goal or assist every 1.8 games. EPL only: 155 appearances. 30 goals + 55 assists. Again, roughly a goal or assist every 1.8 games. How is Ozil putting up numbers like this if he only turns up once in every 5 or 10 games, as so… Read more »
He plays against all the weak teams.
Well, Özil has played all of those games as a CAM or winger, while Ramsey has played mainly as a box-to-box CM, with a few games CAM or winger, so he will naturally have fewer assists and goals, because he has significantly higher defensive duties.
Ramsey only ever defended when Mikel Arteta forced him to, and has spent most of his recent appearances up with the strikers, so don’t come with that nonsense. If anything Mesut has played a bit deeper this season, hence more pre-assists than assists.
well, this is just wrong. In the last season, yes, he has been playing only as a CAM, but please, exercise long-term memory. Before this season, there was only a handful of times when Ramsey played winger. He hardly ever played CAM, and practically all of the time he played box-to-box CM. Özil has not even once played CM, so the difference is completely natural.
Also, just want to say, that I’m a huge özil fan, and i don’t want to undermine his output, but the statistics that golden_Wigglesworth put up can be really explained very simply, and have a direct positional reasoning behind it
Fair point. Interestingly, though, over the 5 seasons or so that Ramsey & Ozil have played together, he has averaged 2.62 shots p/90 vs. Ozil’s 1.33 shots p/90 (both score at 0.21 goals p/90 or 1/5 games-ish), so the greater level of defensive responsibility hasn’t prevented Ramsey from taking more shots per game than Ozil (even if you look only at the games he started at CM, Ramsey is still up at 2.41 shots p/90). If only Wenger had managed to get Ramsey to be as efficient in front of goal as Ozil, or figured out how to make Ozil… Read more »
Mesut Ozil is a great player and has done a lot for Arsenal. If his performances are below his normal high standard this year the fault lies with Emery for failing to utilize Ozil’s strengths. People should realize that, despite playing only a few games, Ozil has created more chances that any other Arsenal player this year. A top conductor would never ask his star tenor to sing the bass. Yet poor man manager Unai Emery focuses on Ozil’s weakness, plays him in odd positions instead of Ozil’s preferred position, and belittles him before the press. Someone high up at… Read more »
You can put down all the stats, but it is clear we have not got much from him in the last 2 years. For a player of that stature and investment, you expect game changing performances in the big games. In short, he should make the difference for Arsenal or not take the money.
It seems that nowadays if given the options most of our fanbase will gladly give a blowjob to Dele Alli rather than support Ozil ??? Anw,seems like his days are numbered,hope whoever we bring in is an Emery signing rather than one of the head honchos.A winger will probably suit Emery’s cause more than an out and out 10.Dembouz is the dream but will be okay with any hard-working tricky cross merchant.
Can we play Bobby Pires…please!!!!
It takes 20,000 season tickets to pay the wages of a player that barely contributes. Surely Gazidis is on a percentage!
Psychological research has shown that humans instinctively crave predictability from other people. Homeostasis, inertia. I think it’s one reason people are losing it re Emery, but also one reason people are so annoyed by Ozil. Big difference being that Emery has a solid excuse, he’s doing what all first year coaches do, experiment. What’s interesting about Ozil is that he consistently offers good passing, but is inconsistent in terms of impact, including the amount of games he literally shows up for. Beyond this, you have personal issues about effort, attitude, etc., which overall conveys a sense of unreliability: will we… Read more »
I get the impression that the criticism of Ozil has grown in recent times and could have more to do with his enormous salary than anything to do with Emery, whose also rotated others without as much fuss, like Lacazette.
I also don’t see any correlation between being British and criticising a player or not, does he not get some serious criticism in Germany, or doesn’t that count?
Every time people talk about Ozil now they inevitably mention his salary. I mean it’s the same for Alexis at Man Utd and you could argue that they have truly been shafted. All the other players have been rotated and I know Laca seemed a bit cheesed off recently but he’s a striker and that’s understandable. As the star, Mesut expect star treatment but Emery is trying to build a team with the ethos of all for one and one for all.
He must have realised we would expect something in return for that price. Same goes for Sanchez
We should let him go for free.
£40mill on his 2.5 yr contract and he’s a player in decline.
We could buy a 22-24yr old on a 5 yr deal for £50mill, paying him up to £120,000 p/w and in 2-3 yrs we’d have an asset we could sell, and over the 5yrs we’d be financially better off
Sitting around watching Ozil stink the place out for another 2.5yrs, in which time he’ll be even more worthless makes no financial or sporting sense.
Time to cut our losses
You want to be a mid table team Rich… ? Go for it !!! I want world class players in my beloved AFC team and win the premier league or Champions league.
On the plus side : Pigs in Blankets are great.
Happy New Year to all Gooners!
NY’s wish: Can we please win tomorrow? That is all.
The update at the end of the article is the best bit of news I’ve read since Saturday!
We don’t know what is going on behind the scenes or how this will pan out but one thing is for sure, we can’t have someone being paid £350,000 not starting every game (unless injured), hell we can’t ever pay anyone that kind of crazy money again
I don’t know why Arsenal have to “make a decision on Mesut Ozil”. There’s no decision to be made. Ramsey is likely going. We are short on players. We will need his creativity. At least till summer. I don’t understand why some people are so eager to rid us of certain players when we have far more mediocre ones we cannot even move. Like Elneny, Jenkinson for starters. Instead they want to get rid of Mustafi when we are without Holding, and when Koscielny is past his best, Lichsteiner beyond sell by date and Monreal injury prone. Mavropanos isn’t even… Read more »
Thanks for the stats Devlin and The Golden Wrigglesworth – enough said. How people think getting rid of Ozil will improve this team is beyond belief. I have an uncomfortable feeling about Emery, not just from the Ozil perspective but his ‘Pragmatist’ mantra. We have on paper an attacking 3 as good as almost any team in Europe. I think he’s too clever for his own good with his half time substitutions and playing people out of position. I hope I’m wrong!
Squad is thread bare.
Outfield minus younger Academy players and peripheral mediocre choices like Elneny (never mind Jenkinson) :
CF – Auba and Laca
AM – Ramsey, Iwobi, (Ozil)
CM – Torreira, Granit, Guendouzi
CB – Sokratis, (Mustafi), Koscielny, Lichsteiner
WB – Kolasinac, AMN, (Monreal), (Bellerin)
That’s just 16 players. Of which those in parenthesis have injury doubts.
And we are in the BUSY festive period. Its not surprising some players are also hitting the wall a bit.
Against Liverpool, I was surprised we did not stick to a back 3 and play two up top : ………………Auba……………………Laca………………….. …………………………..Ramsey…………………………….. Kolasinac………………………………………………….AMN ………………….Granit……………Torreira……………….. …………Koscielny……..Sokratis………..Mustafi………… …………………………….Leno……………………………… AMN was too high up IMO as a winger in the 4-2-3-1. It offered little protection to Lichsteiner. At times, I felt he was a bit lackedaisical with his defending bc he was tasked as a winger. Auba and LAca I feel we should take advantage of. Particularly Laca who can affect our play high up and all though he may not be scoring as much as Auba, he makes things happen for us. They… Read more »
FFS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fMCY-At2KU&fbclid=IwAR12AqVOxNzRH0YFPn57IWMJRQ3itBUMuXzpQq74LDgCMelyR3OLdmyAJ4E
Ok this explains everything. If you still slag off Ozil, then you’re beyond repair.