Mesut Ozil has been a major part of the Arsenal squad, particularly as a creative midfielder, chance creator and world-class play-maker. His Arsenal records speak volumes and it is sad to see him fall out of favor under the new Arsenal manager Unai Emery, who prefers Dani Ceballos over him.
Ozil has only played one Premier League game this season during which he had 44 passes, averaging 44.00 per match, one cross, and three accurate long balls. This is impressive for someone who had to battle injury and came back to play. (Premier League Stat)
Him being sidelined has led to debates on social media on whether there is an issue between him and the Arsenal manager. His passing prowess and assist rate has made him an Arsenal favorite, and some even refer to him as one of the best chance creators in the world.
It is arguably so, looking at his stat for 2015/2015 which still remains his best season in Arsenal so far. Ozil had 35 appearances in the Premier League where he scored 6 goals and had an incredible total of 19 assists, 2276 passes, averaging 65.03 passes per match and 28 big chances created. He had 228 crosses with 41% cross accuracy, 42 through balls and 53 accurate long balls.
Is Emery leaving him out for no reason?
That has been the question on almost every Arsenal fan’s lips, and it was confirmed Ozil wasn’t being sidelined mainly because of injury as he was said to have had a weird confrontation with Unai Emery during training on Wednesday as seen on TalkSport.
We can’t confirm the outcome of the conversation but we assume that’s what led to Ozil’s cryptic caption on his Instagram page which read “You make me laugh”, that has had fans talking since he posted it.
Possible outcomes if Ozil doesn’t get to play
Arsenal is looking to reinvest in value and Ozil is not be any lower right now. If you are not going to play him because of a reason fans don’t know, the obvious thing to do is sell him.
If Emery wants us to believe Ozil is not justifying his £350,000 per week wage, the question of a sale should pop up even though that’s not really a good idea at the moment.
Seeing how the club suffered creativity against Sheffield United in their last Premier League game is enough to let this stick.
Also, the midfield will suffer more than it already has if Ozil should leave. The fact that he is still on the bench means he can come in at any time and work his magic in matches but as soon as he leaves, his exit will leave that void in the midfield that it will be tough to fill it.
Conclusion
Football is not a game you play with sentiment especially when you are a manager. Unai Emery’s body language is starting to look like he has an ax to grind with the 31-year-old German midfielder and this has started affecting the club’s performance.
If anything at all, Emery seems to be changing the style left for him by Arsene Wenger and it’s not just a minor change but like a total overhaul.
