Mesut Özil: Time to Move Ön?

[Arsenal1508]

Özil will struggle with the high press. Hopefully I am wrong.

When he gets the ball...he should just sink it to other players. Any type of dribbldng and he will lose the ball.

 

[A_G]

don't agree with all of it but interesting stuff from Carragher

 

[Batman]

Özil will struggle with the high press. Hopefully I am wrong.

When he gets the ball...he should just sink it to other players. Any type of dribbldng and he will lose the ball.

That's one aspect of his game that baffles me and seems mental more than anything else because he's excellent technically so it shouldn't happen. I would say Özil is at least on par and perhaps a little bit more gifted technically than Cesc was but you could never get the ball off of him with a press. He'd just dip his shoulder and laugh at you before he pinged an inch perfect 60 yard pass. Özil should be able to do the same.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Can he put in a big performance tomorrow? I mean he's done it before against Liverpool.

 

[L3T5 PL4Y]

don't agree with all of it but interesting stuff from Carragher

I can't read the article but I said something along those lines a long time ago.

There is very little need or use of a specialist no.10 these days and players need to be able to contribute in all phases of play. The players at the highest level don't have any need for a specific final passer. The forwards can make runs, movements, find through balls or simple passes and work defensively off the ball. The midfielders are multifunctional too. The central defenders take on the responsibility of spreading the play and coming out with the ball without needing a playmaker or can completely bypass the midfield altogether. There's no need or space for a specialist no.10.

It becomes a bigger problem with Özil because he is way too inconsistent and unable to contribute in all 4 phases of play without dropping off in another for his limitations while you have to compensate too much for his short comings in other areas.

But there's been an interesting development this season in terms of his physical and emotional application you can notice in moments. Emery got to him along with the German NT drama and he is scoring more regularly. Even though I suspect it maybe too little too late and we'd have been better off without him lets see how the season progresses.

 

[L3T5 PL4Y]

That's one aspect of his game that baffles me and seems mental more than anything else because he's excellent technically so it shouldn't happen. I would say Özil is at least on par and perhaps a little bit more gifted technically than Cesc was but you could never get the ball off of him with a press. He'd just dip his shoulder and laugh at you before he pinged an inch perfect 60 yard pass. Özil should be able to do the same.

Özil is too one footed and sees the game differently to Cesc who could find a pass in any situation or part of the pitch having developed in the modern Spanish way of playing. Özil on the other hand plays on movement in the final third and on the counter attack growing up in the German style.

His physical short comings don't help. Remember Guardiola was once asked about Özil while at Barca and he said he was surprised Özil could cut it physically in the Spanish league which he couldn't actually going by Mourinho hooking him after the 7oth.

Mentally too he is fragile. Remember that penalty against Bayern? You could immediately tell he was going to screw it up while you knew with Cesc he'd nail it.

 

[celestis]

Nah , Fab struggled with the press on numerous occasions , in our encounters with Barca , it was Wilshere that actually broke line along with Eboue . I don't really see Özil suffering any worse than Fab did .

Other thing is Özil is a top athlete , great ability to keep running all through the 90 .

 

[BobP]

Mentally too he is fragile.

Rubbish.

He cut it at the biggest club in the world, a level which many capable footballers have struggled to cope with. He played alongside one of the greatest, and most demanding, players of all time, a player who has had nothing but good things to say about Özil.

You can't do that if you're mentally fragile.

 

[L3T5 PL4Y]

Rubbish.

He cut it at the biggest club in the world, a level which many capable footballers have struggled to cope with. He played alongside one of the greatest, and most demanding, players of all time, a player who has had nothing but good things to say about Özil.

You can't do that if you're mentally fragile.

They got rid of him.....

 

[L3T5 PL4Y]

Benzema is also mentally fragile and excelled at RM for years. He was Ronaldo's little ***** all through out.

 

[BobP]

They got rid of him.....

Hardly.

There was no way of fitting Ronaldo, Di Maria, Bale, and Özil into the same lineup. Something had to give. They would have kept him if it were possible but not even a club of Real Madrid's stature could justify keeping a player like Özil around as a rotation player. And that's without even going into the need to offset the Gareth Bale transfer.

Keeping in mind the balance of the team, I'd argue that Ancelotti made the correct decision. Melding together the tried and tested double pivot of Alonso and Khedira with the malleable and dynamic Di Maria essentially won them the UCL that season.

Nevertheless, Özil leaving Real Madrid doesn't have anything to do with his mentality as you seem to be suggesting.

 

[L3T5 PL4Y]

Hardly.

There was no way of fitting Ronaldo, Di Maria, Bale, and Özil into the same lineup. Something had to give. They would have kept him if it were possible but not even a club of Real Madrid's stature could justify keeping a player like Özil around as a rotation player. And that's without even going into the need to offset the Gareth Bale transfer.

Keeping in mind the balance of the team, I'd argue that Ancelotti made the correct decision. Melding together the tried and tested double pivot of Alonso and Khedira with the malleable and dynamic Di Maria essentially won them the UCL that season.

Nevertheless, Özil leaving Real Madrid doesn't have anything to do with his mentality as you seem to be suggesting.

Khedira didn't do anything all season and they switched to a 3 man midfield with Modric. They got rid of Özil as they got superior players in his place.

I don't think playing for Madrid is proof of someone's mental strength as you put it either.

 

[BobP]

I don't think playing for Madrid is proof of someone's mental strength as you put it either.

So all clubs exist on the same plane?

Again, rubbish.

Take how Özil has been scrutinised during his time at Arsenal and multiply that by ten. That's the level of scrutiny one is subjected to when playing for Real Madrid. I mean, Modric was voted as the worst signing before his first season at Real Madrid had even come to an end .

They got rid of Özil as they got superior players in his place.

It has nothing to do with the superiority of players. As I argue above, it's to do with the balance of the team.

Would you argue that Di Maria is a superior player to Özil?

Furthermore, what guarantee did Real Madrid have that Modric, who had been relatively poor for most of the 2012-2013 season, would grow into his role?

 

[L3T5 PL4Y]

So all clubs exist on the same plane?

Again, rubbish.

Take how Özil has been scrutinised during his time at Arsenal and multiply that by ten. That's the level of scrutiny one is subjected to when playing for Real Madrid. I mean, Modric was voted as the worst signing before his first season at Real Madrid had even come to an end .



It has nothing to do with the superiority of players. As I argue above, it's to do with the balance of the team.

Would you argue that Di Maria is a superior player to Özil?

Furthermore, what guarantee did Real Madrid have that Modric, who had been relatively poor for most of the 2012-2013 season, would grow into his role?

All clubs are not on the same level but I don't think as an individual you need to be some mentally supremely strong to cut it at Real Madrid and unlike at Arsenal he wasn't under the spotlight as much with greater players taking it all in. Anyway, what he did or didn't do at Madrid isn't that important. What he did after coming to Arsenal, he didn't come across as someone mentally strong and a leader as he was expected to be at any point,

What guarantees RM had about Modric? They bought him for a reason. Not because they had this dream. This fan opinion voted stuff mean nothing.

No, I don't think Di Maria is a superior player. Bale and Modric were though.

 

[Rimaal]

Wonderful performance again.

 

[Sniper Mik]

He wasn't at his absolute peak tonight, but the way he helps us keep possession, and some of the caressed touches on the ball he has is just an absolute joy to watch. Genuine world class royalty.

 

[WilshereGone]

Yeah he was quietly very good today. Not dominant, but crucial to our play in the final third.

 

[blaze_of_glory]

Yeah very solid game, he was on the ball a lot and very influential in our attack. Which is both what you want and also what you expect when we have a lot of the ball, which we did today. He usually only struggles if we are not able to impose ourselves in games. If we have the ball, if we are recovering it quickly, etc, then Özil will almost always play well.

 

[razörist]

He was solid today, helped us get through the final third and showed overall a lot of desire to work for the team. I think the captaincy is triggering him the right way too, see him urging on his teammates a lot more now. Too bad Laca didn’t finish that backheel assist of his in the first half, that was something else.

 

[L3T5 PL4Y]

His workrate off the ball was really good. Early on he struggled on the ball but was reasonably good as the game went on. It was against one of the best teams around so I wasn't really expecting some earth shattering performance. If that sweet flick for Laca went in it would've been a fantastic game.

The interesting thing though is his actions without the ball. Emery and possibly being captain is getting something out of him.