He was once the best signing in a transfer window, went on to set all kinds of assists records and scored “that” goal legends would be proud of against Ludogorets in the Champions League. But that was in the past and sadly Ozil never aged like fine wine, rather it was the opposite.
Over the past couple of seasons, the German has drastically declined (by all standards) and has been the subject of being called lazy and nonchalant at Arsenal by many pundits.
His 350,000 weekly paycheck hasn’t helped with the criticism from all angles as well. Frozen out in the cold under former manager Emery, Ozil has recently become a regular face under Ljungberg – even so the German has made little or any claim to justify why he should be in the lineup, even moreso here against City.
His antics against City just seemed to compound his struggles currently at Arsenal that dates way back from last season.
Freddie Ljungberg vowed to “deal with” Mesut Ozil after the Arsenal midfielder reacted angrily to being substituted during Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.
A first-half masterclass from Kevin De Bruyne inspired City to a comfortable victory at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon.
De Bruyne’s performance was a pure contrast to that of Mesut Ozil on the afternoon. You could look at both players and say De Bruyne is currently what you hope Ozil should be – based on his talent and experience to his name.
This is Kevin De Bruyne's world and we're just living it.
What a 45 minutes. ? pic.twitter.com/T1I1F6ZY2Y
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 15, 2019
Ozil started the game despite the fallout from his social media comments regarding the treatment of Uighur Muslims in the western province of Xinjiang, China. Chinese state broadcasters CCTV pulled the match from its schedule in response to Ozil’s criticism.
Back on the pitch, Ozil struggled to have an impact and was substituted after just 58 minutes. A number of Arsenal fans appeared to be telling the German to hurry off the field, but Ozil trudged off before taking off his gloves and kicking them up in the air in frustration.
After the game, Ljungberg told Sky Sports: “For me I took Mesut off because I wanted some more energy in the team.
“I thought Emile [Smith Rowe] did really well when he came in.
