Mesut Özil: Time to Move Ön?

[Makingtrax]

Don’t think we should be over analysing this game. We’ve got injuries to key players again and a ban to Torreira. On top of that some of our non star payers just had off days, in particular our wing backs. Kola and AMN were completely nullified.

It was just one of those games, and we only lost one nil. Blaming Emery for the setup or blaming Özil seems unjust. Özil made some slick passes but to be effective he needs to be at the centre of busy traffic pinging through balls and finding runners at the far post. Today the players were too static and midfield was over-run. Nobody covered themselves in glory.

 

[Tourbillion]

Don’t think we should be over analysing this game. We’ve got injuries to key players again and a ban to Torreira. On top of that some of our non star payers just had off days, in particular our wing backs. Kola and AMN were completely nullified.

It was just one of those games, and we only lost one nil. Blaming Emery for the setup or blaming Özil seems unjust. Özil made some slick passes but to be effective he needs to be at the centre of busy traffic pinging through balls and finding runners at the far post. Today the players were too static and midfield was over-run. Nobody covered themselves in glory.

Nah mate, it's significant because yet again we are shocking, absolutely pathetic, away from home.

 

[Rex Stone]

Özil should have adapted to playing deeper 3 or 4 seasons ago but it hasn't happened, though he has had decent spells doing just that last season and this season. I think it's dawning on people having a free roaming AM in the EPL doesn't work often enough. The whole is nearly always greater than the sum of it's parts.

I think it can work if you have movement around him, the key of the invincibles was that we had top class movement around Bergkamp despite his age. Yesterday it was so static it was painful to watch.

Also defensively we’re not going to get much out of him pressing, he uses his energy by drifting around into pockets of space, that’s his game.

As a result you won’t be able to press high so you’d have to set up in a low block which we should have done yesterday.

 

[BigPoppaPump]

I wonder whats happened to all those illnesses and back aches?

 

[Mark Tobias]

Not great. Think we should just use him for home games. Looks garbage away

 

[sammy89]

I think it can work if you have movement around him, the key of the invincibles was that we had top class movement around Bergkamp despite his age. Yesterday it was so static it was painful to watch.

Also defensively we’re not going to get much out of him pressing, he uses his energy by drifting around into pockets of space, that’s his game.

As a result you won’t be able to press high so you’d have to set up in a low block which we should have done yesterday.

People move when they trust the man on the ball will find them. Suarez ALWAYS runs when Messi shapes for the pass cause he knows even if there's 4 players in between, Messi can find him. With Özil you're not sure if he'll weather the challenge, or whether he'll manage to shimmy over to his left foot before finding the pass, so you're cautious to make the run. He's the icing on the cake when we're coasting in games like Newcastle, but in hard away games, he's part of the problem.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Still can't believe we have Mesut Özil!

 

[Rex Stone]

People move when they trust the man on the ball will find them. Suarez ALWAYS runs when Messi shapes for the pass cause he knows even if there's 4 players in between, Messi can find him. With Özil you're not sure if he'll weather the challenge, or whether he'll manage to shimmy over to his left foot before finding the pass, so you're cautious to make the run. He's the icing on the cake when we're coasting in games like Newcastle, but in hard away games, he's part of the problem.

Yes but Luis Suarez is always going to make more runs behind than Mkhitaryan and Lacazette. That’s his game.

 

[Toby]

Yesterday it was so static it was painful to watch.

Problem was there weren't enough players to move. With the 5221 Özil himself is part of an attacking trio which means there's only two other players left in front of him who are then targeted by 3 to 4 opposition defenders. When there's no one moving the ball upfield like Xhaka, he's prone to drop deep and vanishes from attacking positions. When a team shuts out the fullbacks via pressure, like Everton did, you get what happened yesterday. Özil drifting around waiting for movement, an isolated CF consistently followed by two CBs and second attacker equally shut out of the game as there's no one to link up with and he's also got two opposition players harassing him. You just can't break down a team like yesterday's Everton with only 3 attackers of whom one is the playmaker.

 

[Football Manager]

Problem was there weren't enough players to move. With the 5221 Özil himself is part of an attacking trio which means there's only two other players left in front of him who are then targeted by 3 to 4 opposition defenders. When there's no one moving the ball upfield like Xhaka, he's prone to drop deep and vanishes from attacking positions. When a team shuts out the fullbacks via pressure, like Everton did, you get what happened yesterday. Özil drifting around waiting for movement, an isolated CF consistently followed by two CBs and second attacker equally shut out of the game as there's no one to link up with and he's also got two opposition players harassing him. You just can't break down a team like yesterday's Everton with only 3 attackers of whom one is the playmaker.

Our full backs were pushed so high up the pitch when we attack.
Stop making excuses for Özil. I know you are one of his fan girl but he deserves the criticism.

 

[Mark Tobias]

What was that jersey throwing garbage also? Really not captain material. Acts like a child at times. Quite sick of that.

 

[MATHEO]

People don't realise that you dominate games more from deeper positions, the higher position you play the less influence you have when it comes to dominating games, and of course the higher position you play the easier it is to create chances or score them.

The comparisons between Özil and the likes of De Bruyne, Silva and Eriksen are doing him injustice, The latter 3 all start from much deeper positions, almost as number 8's, and they have much more room to operate and dominate games from these positions.

Özil throughout his Arsenal career at least (except for a few games last season) has played always been a final third player, Of course he's going to suffer and disappear at times if we cant control games because of the quality of players behind him/the tactics deployed. We've seen how Özil flourished when he had the likes of Cazorla behind him for example. Its simple, the more control we have on games, the more Özil will show his magic, which explains why he tends to show up more in home games compared to away games, or against lesser oppositions compared to big games.

The criticism for Özil on the basis that he doesnt dominate games for us is unjustified given his position, until he starts playing in deeper positions and participates more in the buildup then you can actually give a valid opinion on that regard, until that happens .. we have to face it and accept the fact that he will never dominate games for us by himself from higher positions.

Having said that, judging Özil as a final third player, the fact that hes the player who created the most chances for us even though he played less than half of games played so far is remarkable and tells a lot about his ability.

The problem is that Arsenal have lost a lot of creative technical players without replacements, Sanchez Cazorla Wilshere Rosicky Arteta and soon Ramsey who barely starts any games this season, we've only replaced them with Xhaka and Mkhitaryan. Özil is suffering a lot from that, and sacrificing his quality in the final third to play in deeper positions doesnt seem to be a viable option given the squad we have now.

 

[Football Manager]

People don't realise that you dominate games more from deeper positions, the higher position you play the less influence you have when it comes to dominating games, and of course the higher position you play the easier it is to create chances or score them.......

The problem is that Arsenal have lost a lot of creative technical players without replacements, Sanchez Cazorla Wilshere Rosicky Arteta and soon Ramsey who barely starts any games this season, we've only replaced them with Xhaka and Mkhitaryan. Özil is suffering a lot from that, and sacrificing his quality in the final third to play in deeper positions doesnt seem to be a viable option given the squad we have now.

Get him off that list please.

 

[DasBootist]

Still can't believe we have Mesut Özil!

Anterograde amnesia?

I suffered from that back in 2007 after a brain related illness. I hope you make a recovery

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Anterograde amnesia?

I suffered from that back in 2007 after a brain related illness. I hope you make a recovery

My brain is in top form!

 

[DasBootist]

My brain is in top form!

Self diagnosis?

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Self diagnosis?

I cant believe we still have Mesut Özil!

 

[Tir Na Nog]

 

[pigge]

 

[Jury]

I remember when it was 'if Özil plays well, the rest of the team play well'. So I'm wondering if his abject displays away from home may have something to do with our crap away form? I know--how dare I say such a thing! Not that I believe it to be the case anyway, but just sticking it in there because it's as valid as some of the horseshit you read in defence of him.

So, yeah, as it's the Özil thread and not the match thread, where I can slaughter the whole team, it's worth saying here that he had all the presence of a wet fart in a hurricane yesterday. I even think Özil himself is getting as frustrated as we at his inability to have an impact away from home. That can't be a bad thing, I suppose.