Mesut Ozil says he fully respects Unai Emery’s decision to pick the squad he feels best for each game, but insists he’s fit and ready to play.
The German hasn’t been selected by the Arsenal boss since a Carabao Cup game on September 24th, with the Spaniard insisting that others deserved a place more than he did, but in an extensive interview with The Athletic, the 31 year old says he’s fit and doing extra training to make up for his lack of playing time.
Speaking about being left out for the games against Standard Liege, Man Utd and Bournemouth, he said, “It’s disappointing, of course, but as a professional footballer, I have to respect the decision of the coach. Not being involved, watching from home, makes me feel helpless.
“I want to be part of the side, I want to support my team-mates to succeed. I’m not training all the time just for the sake of it, I’m ready to play.
“This should not be about me or the coach, only the club. I have to give everything, be fit and focused, and I’m training hard to be ready.
“Pre-season went very well and although things were disrupted by the [moped] attack, since then I’ve been fully available and when the coach has selected me I’ve been ready, played and always tried to give my best.
“I’ve trained at the same level my whole career but because I’ve not had minutes recently, I’m doing extra work with the fitness coach and in the gym to get even fitter than normal.
“I know what is needed and believe in myself.”
His comments sees a little at odds with what Emery was insinuating when he spoke about leaving Ozil out of his squad, but the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
The rest of the interview makes for fascinating reading too, and to get a discount on a subscription if you don’t have one already, check out David’s Tweet below – or click here to subscribe.
MESUT OZIL EXCLUSIVE – Arsenal star breaks his silence to @TheAthleticUK:
?Staying at #AFC until 2021
?Training hard to regain place
?Respects Emery, rejects critics
?Relives moped attack
?Talks Germany + Erdoganhttps://t.co/6O3ELti4juGet 40% off https://t.co/ktfzn2236t
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) October 17, 2019
Gotta give this guy credit for being super professional about it atleast off the field.
I’m amazed there isn’t a role for Ozil and suspect there is stuff going on underneath that we don’t fully know.
I assume this has a lot to do with money, he is paid a fortune, but otherwise he seems to be a good guy and is very talented. If he is staying I’d use him.
I assume this has a lot to do with money, he is paid a fortune.. He is still going to get paid if he plays or not. If the guy says he staying till the end of his contract we still got to pay the money. If you want to sell put him in shop window by you know playing him. emery’s stance seems personal because it makes no financial sense to isolate/freeze him out in the hope it breaks his will and keep paying him. Why not keep as part of the squad use when possible, keep him shop… Read more »
2 assists in 24 PL appearances says it all. Add to the meager creative output, his established lack of other important attributes required in any top team.
Most chances created last season you absolute mug. After missing most of the season. And ‘our boy’ iwobi who benched ozil and mkhi who benched Ramsey aren’t starting for their respective clubs this season. That reflects more on our manager than it does on ozil. You have a player who can cut open any defense, and he’s being forced to the bench to accommodate 3 average defensive midfielders on the starting line up. We all saw what happened when ozil got benched vs Watford. Keeping possession in the opposition final 3rd is criminally underrated, which is something ozil can do… Read more »
I know you will be in this thread spewing ur Ozil hatred agenda as usual. Ozil has created most chances for Emery’s Arsenal in the Premier League alone(46) despite playing lesser minutes under him according to Opta. Make of that what you will but his job is to create chances and he is doing that. Conversion of those chances depends on those who the chances are created for. It is Emery’s fault for not being able to get the best out of him. The player is there, it is up to Emery to figure out how to utilize his talents.
aside from the personal insults. you make a brainless argument. It’s our strikers’ responsibility to convert chances. And seeing as how we have world class finishers who are known (even statistically) for being very efficient in front of goal, this becomes a meaningless stat. Our forwards are much more successful in converting chances created by other players, including 6 assists by Ramsey who played more than 400 minutes less than Ozil. So you’d wonder what kind of chances is he providing? that both laca and Auba are finding it hard to convert? And no I don’t hate him, you be… Read more »
Maybe you need find out the number of chances fluffed by Laca & Auba last season before you run with your argument and have a healthy debate. You think it’s Ozil’s fault that convert only 2 out of 46 goal scoring passes?
So where is Ramsey now? We offloaded Mikhi (past his sell by date, no disrespect intended), and Iwobi who had flashes of what he can do throughout the season. None of them worth keeping as not consistent enough. We need a player who can run at defenders like Ramsey did. Guendouzi is the only player that does it now. We also lack movement in the final third which is an issue still when Arsene was here, Emery is still trying to motivate them and I’m still to bo convinced he’s the right guy for the job. Plainly if he is… Read more »
First and foremost, try and get your facts right you brainless oaf. Ramsey played about 250 lesser minutes than Ozil last season. Ramsey posted 8 assists compared to Ozil’s 3 in 40 and 35 matches respectively, while they both scored 6 goals apiece. I don’t need to wonder about the kind of chances Ozil is providing, I have seen in it. The kind of chances that has made Ozil third in all time assist rankings for Arsenal behind Fabregas and Thierry Henry. I think he is in good company. As for the sheer number of chances he has created in… Read more »
@Bamzee Blaze
Since you stated it…
You are as blind as you are brainless.
The comment you replied to literally said:
“2 assists in 24 PL appearances ”
PL stands for Premier League. lol.
Read with open eyes so you don’t embarrass yourself. oh well too late…
https://understat.com/team/Arsenal/2018
Arsenal season 18/19:
– Ozil 1751 minutes, 2 assists.
– Ramsey 1326, 6 assists.
– difference is 425 minutes.
The rest of your text wall I ignored & didn’t read.
Now jog on and don’t forget your humble pie, dumbass.
I’ve responded to your BS, with the same tone, but it keeps getting deleted. which not surprising at arseblog. Only a certain type of agenda is allowed in this site…
yeah cause he only ever played 24 games for Arsenal.
Are you saying we should play him based on him form 4 seasons ago?
A new season a with pre- season included every player gets the chance of a new season to prove themselves for form and fitness.
You are using 24 games to base your justification for him being left out of the team this season after 8 games he has 1 appearance this season so i guess the 23 games were from last season? seeing as you are not using pre-season or treating this season as clean slate for all player, why stop at 24 previous games, why not 38, why not 50, 100?
I get what you’re saying. and if I told you that preseason games are not competitive and are not really a good measure, you wouldn’t agree.
I also feel citing the his own club’s assessment of his fitness and work rate is not going to convince people.
So we’re left with words…
if I told you that preseason games are not competitive and are not really a good measure, you wouldn’t agree… its not black and white like you are saying. before ramsey had his stelar season where he banged all them goals, you would not have said based on the previous seasons form that he was going to score all those goals,but going into that season his presason form was probably more of an indicator. Same as a player having a good preseason but not carrying that form into the new season. You can only use them as indicators and are… Read more »
I’m not sure Ramsey is a good example, because on his stellar season (13-14) he was only 22 y/o coming from a tough period which hindered his development. It’s a natural ascent for a young player to get better with time.
Even with Ramsey, AW must have seen his talent clearly in the training ground and he saw a player worth the chance, and worth the wait.
Where as Ozil is 31, and his club are saying his not applying himself in training. And his coach prefers to give game time to the youngsters instead (that bad).
okay maybe not but remember The Jeff in pre season, Gnabry? remember Zalelem? could not carry their pre-season form into full season. Even had hope for Wilshere a few times in pre-season.
Where as Ozil is 31, and his club are saying his not applying himself in training…..
Club also said he could not play away to Bournemouth which i pretty sure its BS as he has played there and won but there you go.
Also Ramsey could not replicate that form the season after so again you could not base his previous seasons form as a guarentee that he would repeat it. like i said previously you can look at the previous seasons form and preseason as an indicator as what you will get for the rest of the season. but they are not definitive.
Mesut Ozil has created more chances for team-mates for Arsenal during Unai Emery’s Premier League tenure than any other player – 46 out of which he got 2 assists
Still he gets flak from all!
If we get a fully fit and hungry Ozil for the rest of the season, this would have been a master stroke by Emery. It baffles me that there isn’t even a space in the bench for Ozil. I’m a huge admirer of his and really baffles me that we don’t use him. By far our best creative midfielder and definitely one of the best we’ve ever had. We finally have the pacey wingers to create space for him and a solid midfield to support him. Get him on the pitch!!
Pepe is struggling defensively, I just don’t see Emery putting Ozil+Pepe on together in the PL,you can’t afford to carry one player in this league, let alone 2….
I’m sure I’ve been watching a different player to the majority of Arsenal fans, Ozil can be a joy to watch, but the vast majority of the time he’s an absolute waste of space.
Pepe will do well playing alongside Ozil.
Three DMs is not the Arsenal way. #EmeryOut
Questions also have to be asked of emery. We practically give up our midfield every game even to teams that have weaker midfields. Control of a game starts from midfield but what chance have you got if you give it up to cover runs, keep shape etc but what about when we got the ball and want to make things happen? I think he has over compensated too much on defensive shape and covering runs and has not what we do with the ball at our feet in the attacking 3rd (Maybe Wenger over compensated too much for the attack)… Read more »
I kinda agree with this.
I feel like the players have let Emery down more than him being responsible. But each to their own. We are 3rd, we haven’t got most of our new signings on the pitch, the team had to be chopped and changed due to circumstances beyond the coaches control. His unending faith in Xhaka seems the biggest issue, but I can understand his desire to have someone.. anyone to be an anchor point from which to build the team around. Everyone got on his case as soon as we spent big money in the summer, he’s under huge pressure to get… Read more »
Such a polarising figure. I personally think he’s a great player who has been mismanaged by Emery, he clearly responds better to a carrot rather than stick approach. Can understand not playing him in certain games but he could add so much more value to the team in games where teams sit back and we need a bit of precision to break through.
I think he has been mismanagemed in both eras , first all carrot, no stick, now the other way round with the big carrot of ridiculous wages already safely on his plate to stop him leaving. Saying this he was also mismanaged in Germany and at madrid, he is very complicated enigma, it might take more than carrots (which he may not like) and sticks (which dont hurt that much) to solve!
Personally Im not a big fan of carrots. I prefer sweet potato or swede if i have to have something orange
Mesuts dip began when they started shunting him to the wings. Low and Wenger did it because they wanted to have a creative outlet on the wings. We have those now. Play him at CAM
Yes you’re right, because unfortunately the pace and physicality of a modern game or important world cup game does not permit for a guy sauntering about and just “creating chances.” A player like that is less of a liability on the wing and gets more space to create. I think Ozil know’s this and he’s such a fragile guy that it must have affected his confidence. Not even cussing Ozil but it’s true. Like you said Wenger did it, Low did it and now we’ve got proper wingers Unai can’t keep him in the squad. We’ve all seen Ozil do… Read more »
I do not understand this “lack of team play” argument, unless you just mean the same “doesn’t track back” that we’ve heard for years. He is ordinarily very good at linking to the attack and sometimes (more than anyone else at Arsenal, and more than almost anyone in Europe) he is brilliant at it. He keeps the attack moving, he ordinarily moves the ball forward, not sideways or back, he forces defenders to open space for our attackers, who have much more ability to get behind defenders when Ozil is on the ball. To me, that is the essence of… Read more »
Either way he’s just one heavy snow storm away from being able to build a pretty decent snowman.
I think the issue is with his contract. There must be something in there coz of which the more he plays, the more we have to pay him.. Ox had something similar… Even podolski I believe..
I, for one, want to see Özil selected. It is clear that it is not about his quality or commitment, just that Raul wants him out of the club. Which is even more stupid than what we did with Ramsey — at least he was contributing until we let him go.
it will be a travesty if we never get to see aubameyang, lacazette, pepe and ozil together. i will never forgive emery.
It’s pretty obvious that Emery has decided Ozil is not on his radar. For whatever reason, he has decided that the team works better without him, at a guess, i would say the work rate when we don’t have the ball, would be a huge factor.
At present the team is not good enough to carry passengers and that’s what we have to do when Ozil is in the team…
Carrying a passenger as in? Its not that the team is doing better without him. The team is conceding a whole lot of goals with or without Ozil. If there is any work rate like you are saying without the ball, how come they are still conceding a whole lot of chances and goals. If lack of work rate is what is keeping Ozil out of the team…..how come the static Xhaka is still playing week in week out?
At present the team is not good enough to carry passengers ……
So why is Pepe being picked..?
Maybe because record signing 72m Pepe is the future and is still in his honeymoon period I guess.
If we don’t finish 3rd behind City and Liverpool – everyone else is shooting themselves in the foot and Chelsea have a transfer ban – the honeymoon is going to lead to a fast divorce my sir.
Because he’s our captain! By popular vote no less. It’s depressing that our spineless manager can’t even decide that for himself. #EmeryOut
It’s weird because even when he’s not playing, the oppositions can still easily cut through our midfield with a simple passing movement all the time. So is he really the problem?
“It’s weird…” I know right?!! Again to be fair, you can see that some of the other players that are picked ahead of Ozil higher up in midfield are doing all the other stuff that we usually do not associate with him (Ozil), like harrying opposition players and pressing from the front with more regularity or at least with more zest. And it’s been rewarding at times especially in attack. Case in point -Ceballos’ upfield tackle and winning the ball back that led to Auba’s goal against Burnley. Willock does it too. But I agree, it does not really make… Read more »
A balanced assessment. But even if you are right, this means that you don’t start Ozil against possession-based teams that try to play the ball out from the back. (I don’t actually agree, because in fact we do not genuinely press against Liverpool or Man City.) But only a handful of teams do this against us–and they are the teams that press us in return (Bournemouth). And when opponents do it to us, Ozil is an ideal player to get the ball from the back to the front. So, on balance, I am not sure it is smart to leave… Read more »
No team is good enough to carry passengers. But you have to ask how many chances does Ozil create vs how many he gives away due to not tracking back and then compare that to the headless chickens who rack up kms on kms but we expect to fuel Auba, Laca… ALSO I’m not sold on Ceballos yet. He is worse than Ramsey ever was at the edge of our box. This team needs Ozil to lead the way. And when next season they ditch him, they better get us a guy who can visualise the game better than Kola… Read more »
Wait till Kieran Tierney hits the ground running. He’s gonna be a major creative outlet for the team.
I just want to see him feeding balls to our shit hot attack, give him some starts and if he genuinely no longer has the ability then sub him off and I’ll happily accept özil not playing for Arsenal, but it’s difficult to swallow when every stat points to The fact he’s fucking brilliant. Emery’s football is painful and boring for me to watch and it’s not going to get anymore exciting if he doesn’t play attacking football with the wee German doing his magic. Of course he could just be a crack head and we don’t know the story.
Honestly makes me sick when I have to see pepe and auba and our boy Saka trying to make something happen out of nothing on the flanks because they have absolutely no one to pass to. Pepe can dribble past one, two, three, four players and he has to pass the ball back to guendo or xhaka of all people because all the space he created with the ball dribbling accounts to nothing.
Nah. Not worth keeping till 2021. It’s a simple case: We’re not getting any performances near the 350k mark. And to top that the club deem him not performing in training. Add to that the toxic atmosphere around him.
A very odd case indeed. We should thank him for his past contributions and send him in his way.
The only toxic atmosphere around him seems to be you.
I second this notion
I understand. You’re one of the feel good crowd. Fickle and quick to forget.
Here’s how everyone reacted 5 months ago:
https://arseblog.news/2019/05/arsenal-1-4-chelsea-europa-league-final-player-ratings/
Everyone has a bad day. Case in point: you today
@red sky – it’s the Joel Campbell situation all over again. The more frustrated people are becoming with Emery the more they think that Ozil is the answer to all the issues despite a mountain of evidence that he has been pretty average the past few years when given opportunities.
What is this crap about 350k? Are you paying it? When did anyone appoint you the CFO? Judge a player by his stats and what he brings to the team. This team is crying out for a creative leader and it is a FAILURE OF THE MANAGEMENT if they can’t utilize someone with the pedigree and the class of Ozil.
red sky.
i agree. i think Ozil gets off way too easy. i know its not a popular opinion but i was never for him signing that contract. he is now overvalued in the market and its bleeding us dry. he is a talented player but its not worked out and he needs to go.
How exactly are we supposed to do that? It’s quite hard to find teams looking to buy a player who isn’t playing, and pretty much impossible when that player is getting paid as much as Ozil is.
I don’t really understand the toxic atmosphere comment to be honest?
It’s just the latest stupid buzzword you’ll find all around the internet. Often even the user themselves hasn’t a clue what they’re using it for. Just browse on
For me, Ozil has handled this situation with more class and poise than Emery or Raul. At least publicly.
If he is indeed slacking like what Emery and Raul have insinuated, then the duo should have the balls to mete out disciplinary measure.
Or is it a case where an artist is being asked to train to do book-keeping as well and being penalised when he is not able to perform the role as well as an accountant?
This circus of using the media to humiliate a player is uncool.
Why have Emery and Raul done anything wrong, other than just being honest and putting necessary pressure on a player, who is on a massive wage and has obviously not been performing to the level that he is capable of? I’m a massive fan of Özil and I love his great vision and decision making, but honestly in the last 2-3 years, we’ve only seen it sparingly. He’s become a shadow of his former self. I did some psychology research some years ago about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and the results said that, extrinsic motivation (eg. money) decreases intrinsic motivation… Read more »
Why have Emery and Raul done anything wrong, other than just being honest and putting necessary pressure on a player……..
Never really seen Arsenal do this to any player. Remember Adams and Merson were coke heads but didnt get dragged through the mud like this.
using the media to put out statement do not make them true.
Thats like believing everything on the internet is both real and true. thats naive
How has he been dragged through the mud? What Emery has said about Özil has always been respectful and reasonable. And I believe the fact that he is on 350k doesn’t mean he should be getting different treatment from other players. Every player needs to earn his place in the team and all Emery has ever said or done has been to leave him out and say that, other players deserve it more… What mud are we talking about here??? I would honestly love to have Özil start for us, because he is probably my favourite current player, but his… Read more »
deal with what ever it is behind closed doors. Thats how Arsenal dealt with problems internally. Hence me highlighting Adams and Merson.
Dont see how a public shaming is helping anyone.
Also what has emery done for the club and what has Ozil done for the club for you to back emery so much. At least Ozil has proven himself to me more than emery.
People forget that 9 yrs without a trophy shit we used to have to endure from all angles. emery has done nothing to earn my good will yet. but a lot of you are so willing to give him credit for very little.
Here’s what I find really interesting about all of this. At the end of the year after the Europa League final blogs was pretty clear that he felt that Ozil should have played his last game for the club as he wasn’t producing when played and the situation around him had become relatively toxic including his PR team making comments about outlasting Emery etc. (forget the exact comment but was covered in depth by Blogs in a post). The majority of fans appeared to support this stance given comments on this blog etc. Since then the club has made a… Read more »
My only point is that if we were better defensively and a better team without him, it would make sense to keep him out. But we are almost the same defensively if not worse and we lost so much creativity, so why not give him a go?
As the stats prove we have not been better without him so how harmful would it be to give him 2 3 games?
Exactly. Some people keep bringing last season that he’s not suited for away games, yet our away form is abysmal without him as well.
Not the mention last season emery was keen on starting mkhi and iwobi ahead of ozil and Ramsey consistently first half of last season. And the respective duo aren’t good enough to start for roma or Everton. You’d think a starter from arsenal who benched ozil and Ramsey would be good enough to be a permenant starter for this terrible Everton and roma sides. Walcott and Bernard getting injured has helped iwobi play a couple games though
I don’t mean to shoot down Iwobi who has tried his best and Mkhi who has been ill with whatever Alexis caught at ManU. But what’s keeping Emery in the job is the awesomeness of Matteo and Auba’s consistency. I don’t know what else is worth talking about.
Also… Count the number of times our counterattacking fails because we don’t have people who can be decisive in the final third…
Well said
“Play for the name on the front of the shirt & they’ll remember the name on the back”, Tony Adams was right in more ways than one. Respect for Ozil’s decision to apply himself and fight his way back in to contention. As with Mustafi after his interview, I think it is clear that nobody doubts their talent, skill or ability as Football Players (both have won the World Cup), what is in doubt is their application of said ability on the field when wearing the Arsenal Shirt. If they can both transcend what they have said in these interviews… Read more »
Not really, a player can play for their name on the back and still be a legend. Cronaldo?
I remember how I thanked God to know Mesut was coming to Arsenal. A big portion of the mess we find ourselves in wrt to him is down to the Emery/Raul.
Remember: Ozil signed for us when everyone else was fucking off.
Translate not transcend…
And I think you’ll find that quite a few people doubted Mustafi’s talent, skill AND ability!
But that aside, no major issue with your post. The only question is whether Emery will continue to give either or both increased opportunity to work their way back into the team.
A lot has been said already. On a personal level, as someone who enjoyed the talent in him for years, I would like to thank that Dr. Erkut the agent. This is is mainly because of the sad ending we are witnessing.
Please explain.
And why is it personal?
Was convinced a year ago when they withdrew Aaron Ramsey’s new contract that they wanted the two highest earners off the books. They just couldn’t offload Mezut. It’s obviously still the case.
One thing that he did say was that he’s watching the games from home, which is telling. We are always seeing non playing team mates in boxes and other parts of the ground. If he is watching from home he obviously doesn’t feel part of the team anymore.
Probably Raul thinks that Mesut will take valuable space in the boxes…
You sure are a genius to deduce how Mesut is feeling. Does BBC hire out your services yet? Say what is Boris feeling right now. Switch on the telly and tell us.
I bet most of that 350k is loaded with appearance and performance bonuses. Maybe why he’s not even in the squad. If he’s not showing the goods in training, why spend whatever it is to have him sit on the bench?
themightybun – i wondered the same thing. we might be trying to save cash. but i dont know for sure.
With respect to his struggles with Germany, I don’t understand how he says the country doesn’t love him when what he is – a great footballer – is all because of that nation. How can he forget that it is this very nation which awarded him the player of the year award 5 times from 2011 to 2017. He should understand that whatever racial abuse he might have suffered in the aftermath of the 2018 WC, was from a minority fans and does not represent the entire nation. To choose only that much, and entirely ignore the love that Germany… Read more »
The treatments he got after the WC & the Erdogan debacle is more than just a few fans booing, I’ve read that even his donation to school got rejected or something like that. It’s quite a big deal.
All I am saying is one bad episode should not be enough to eclipse ten good ones that happened prior to that..
You’ve clearly not been profiled and maligned then. I’d encourage you to stop talking.
I am saying ozil should be the bigger man here, something you are clearly not capable of becoming for sure
@fanboy – the WC stuff wasn’t good. The Erdogan stuff is a massive deal as Ozil has chosen to publicly align himself with a brutal dictator even to the point of having him be the best man at his wedding. That is Ozil’s choice- but he shouldn’t be free of the backlash for that decision.
I believe there was a lot of flak he got from inside the German dressing room that left him disillusioned. He seems to be a sensitive person and he took the call and didn’t even want to meet Low.
Personally, I think he should avoid the Erdogan connection totally, but they seem to be friends.
That last line ??
Play the man!! Auba and pepe are crying out for service and we have the best man for the job sitting there on our books. He could seriously make Pepe thrive. Auba has scored that many goals but just imagine how many it could of been if ozil was playing? I get Emery wants hard workers but it’s useless if we cant utilize ozils creativity. Maybe put more pressure on the 6 men playing behind him to defend better and we can see the real impact ozil can have. We shouldnt have to play 3 defensive mids when we have… Read more »
gosh i miss watching ozil!
With a fully fit Bellerin and Tierney bombing down the flanks, two of the most clinical finishers in Auba and Laca in the middle, and a pacy winger like Pepe thrown into the mix Ozil has to be given a chance in this team. The guys got mad vision and he creates big chances. Bring him in and let him prove himself!
We aren’t looking creative at the moment and we have one of the best playmakers sitting on the bench. Even players like Guendouzi who collect the ball and run tirelessly would benefit from an outlet like Ozil.
Any normal player would read the signs and leave. Therefore, Ozil’s primary interest is obviously money, not football. Don’t expect him to take accountability for his bad performances, he’s too arrogant and self-absorbed.
Any normal fan would read the signs and be supportive. Therefore, Pete Strong’s primary motivation is obviously envy, not football. Don’t expect him to take objectivity over prejudice, he’s too immature and presumptuous.
yep. its all show.
And if that was you and you left then you’d be a gigantic fool to throw away 350 000 pounds a week. Don’t even pretend you would. Most of this board have never seen that much money in a lifetime, nevermind on a weekly basis.
Juan Mata saying the No10 role is extinct, something many critics of Ozil’s selection have been saying for a long time.
He’s in dreamland if he thinks he’s extending past 2021, his PR team is really very good, we’re likely stuck with him, along with the Ozil fan boys kicking off every time he doesn’t start, but he’s been on the slide for a very long time, and I doubt he’ll make the squad on Monday, or again on Thursday, Smith-Rowe and Willock are the future, and it sounds like Emery wants Ceballos on a permanent deal.
I really don’t know what to make of all this. It seems like a situation where we have a player who is not at all bad or a below-average performer (as some might be led to believe) for that matter, but -for a while now- hasn’t been producing “star player” output to justify (the reported) 350k/w management is paying. So -because he is not “The star player”- the coach’s hand isn’t forced to play him EVERY GAME AHEAD OF OTHER PLAYERS. Because of this reality, management feels paying 350k/w is not a sound use of scarce funds now and are… Read more »
Leno
Bellerin Chambers Holding Tierney
Torreira Willock
Ozil
Pepe Laca Auba
Please. Just once. So I can say I saw it before we revert back to Emeryball.
And who will coach that team? Emery?
A bit too conflicting to expect that line up to play anything other than “Emeryball” under Emery.
Maybe they could all go rogue and just play the beautiful game, while Emery exploded on the sidelines because they were ignoring his instructions but he couldn’t do anything about it because we won eight-nil and everyone one was HAPPY!
Eh no, Emery would substitute all of them if he could! And we would probably end the game 8-8.
Leno Pepe and Auba being the three that have been regularly starting in the PL. Changing the team this dramatically would be nice to see after 5-10 games maybe but I think you couldn’t persuade any manager in the PL to do alter his team so much.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s an absolute pipe dream, but I’d love to see it all the same.
It’s usually pretty apparent in any of those training snippets we get that Ozils approach to training is far from enthusiastic. He half arses most every drill and just kind of trudges along. I can get if that’s a behaviour that a manager wants to weed out of the club, particularly when it might negatively imprint on a lot of the others in the squad. But I can’t get Emery and the club going about it this way. At the end of the day he is a stupidly expensive and talented asset to have twiddling his thumb’s on matchdays. If… Read more »
A fit and firing Ozil would be fantastic but he’s not been like that for a while and this slump started long before Emery. I also don’t get this idea that Ozil hasn’t been given chances under Emery, he played a lot of games last season. Especially the tail end when we lost Ramsey, culminating in that infamous Europa League final “performance”. It’s almost as if people on here have been hit by the MIB device and had their memories erased! The coach says he’s not doing enough, the director of football agrees, and the statistics and my own eyes.… Read more »
46 goal scoring chances by him is not enough? From the 24 games he played in EPL? 4 of them as substitute.
In the 5 games he played alongside Auba, Laca & Ramsey we won all the 5 games. I cannot remember how many games we lost when he played or else I’d have quoted that too. I hear what you are saying, but some objectivity please!
46 chances in 24 games, so less than 2 chances a game, plus only 2 assists all season. I just don’t get the fuss. As for not playing badly, what about against Palace and Brighton at home, he started both games.
He only created 3 big chances in those games as well which puts him in the 40s/50s in terms of premier league players in that category.
Convert ⅓ and it’s 15 assists a season, so please do not twist stats to win an argument. These are the stats that are for real.
If Ozil passes the ball to Laca right outside our own box and he then dribbles all the way into their box & shoots it still counts as a chance created by Ozil. Simply saying Ozil created chances doesn’t tell us a lot.
Use your expertise and explain “goal scoring chances” to me please.
Does make some sound points. What gives him credibility is how Emery treats certain other players who perform just as bad or worse. The game that convince me it was more Emery’s personal problem with him was when he chose to put Auba on the bench and then bring him on for 20mins in a game that was won. And subbing Ozil in the Carabao cup just when the game was opening up.
Regardless of the situation the player is begging to start, stating he’s ready and doing extra work. BEGGING! This poker game has Ozil playing his final card….I’m staying and you cant get rid of me for your 350k back so you might as well forget that and do what’s right and play europes best playmaker of the last 5 years. Thats at least something.
money money money…
Well bloody said.
350k a week..I’m sure he doesn’t care if he is sitting on the bench.
I’d let Emery whip and beat me if it meant I got 350 a week
The one thing about this whole conundrum we do know is, the less he plays the better he gets. ?
What I don’t get in this whole debate: what if it is personal between Unai and Özil? Would that be so inconceivably and so “wrong”? The way I see it Özil was a good footballer and probably still is, albeit surely having dropped a little bit, but what if he is an idiot, doesn’t get along with Unai and/or is just not as committed in training? Would we fans, in Unai’s position, tolerate such behavior or would we say: “nuff is nuff, I don’t get along with him, his attitude stinks, the young guns need a chance and we need… Read more »
I’m not wading into this as a Pro or Anti Ozil Arsenal fan. I’m just questioning whether leaving him at home is in the club’s best interests. A few reasons why: 1. Fact is, he is still the one player in midfield with the quality to pick a pass that can change things in an instant; none of Xhaka, Torreira, Guendouzi or Ceballos (yet) have shown that ability. In turgid games like at United, where we struggled to pick a pedestrian United side apart, wouldn’t 20 minutes of Ozil have possibly given Auba a gilt-edge chance or two to tuck… Read more »
Brilliant how the media makes out Erdogan to be a brutal dictator while pure Democratic leaders like Bush who killed millions due to illegitimate wars roam around without a bother.
Please don’t try to defend Ozil based on his relationship with Erdogan, it’s embarrassing.
Surprise, surprise, Emery says Ozil is training well now!
Emery is probably a schizophrenic. He doesn’t seem to have any consistent patterns of thought of behaviour
*1751