Why is ace loved at international level but misunderstood at Arsenal?

Mesut Ozil is often met with very different receptions while playing for club and country. While wearing the kit of Germany, he can do no wrong and is praised for his influence and class. At Arsenal, although we gooners know his brilliance, he is often misunderstood by the outside world. He is accused of being lazy defensively and generally lackluster off the ball.

What is the meaning of this divide? The first inclination would be to consider his positioning, and perhaps a change in philosophy and tactics between Wenger and Lowe. That seems unlikely though, because in both systems he is employed in an advanced attacking midfield role with a holding midfielder behind him.

Coquelin picks up the scraps behind Ozil for Arsenal, while it is Khedira or Bender that does the job for Germany. In both cases he is tasked more with attacking and creating and is not particularly required to retreat.

For me, it boils down to the nature of the competitions he plays in. International football and the Premier League are two very different animals (I’ll leave it up to you decide which is better) with different sets of demands. Ozil can perhaps afford to work less off the ball for Germany, at least more so than in England with Arsenal, as I find the pace to be a bit different.

Whereas in the Premier League the pace is frenetic and teams attack with numbers bombing forward, the international game is a bit more calculated and tactical. The chance of an extra man popping up is much greater in English football than in internationals and for that reason I think Ozil’s reluctance to retreat defensively is exposed more often by the English media.

Still, to be fair to Mesut, he has been working hard lately to right these wrongs and attempt to work harder defensively. Much of the slack of he receives these days is unwarranted I believe, and we gooners need to stand behind him when the rest of the world may not.

He is understood by Arsenal faithful and by his team-mates, that is all that matters at the end of the day.

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