Contract talks are hurting Mesut Ozil’s play for Arsenal
Arsenal need to finish Mesut Ozil’s contract
Contract negotiations between Mesut Ozil and Arsenal have been going on for months. More stories have been written about the German’s potential wages than his play as of late. It’s time for people to realize that the weight of these contract negotiations are starting to cause the player’s performance to suffer.
Consider the fact that Ozil only has two assists in Premier League play this season. For comparison sake, Alex Iwobi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both have more for the Gunners. Two assists in 16 matches isn’t anyone’s idea of solid production from a Premier League side’s number ten.
It’s especially poor production given the talent that surrounds Ozil. It’s not as if Arsene Wenger’s club have struggled to score goals this season. Alexis Sanchez already has 12 on the season and Theo Walcott has chipped in eight. None of Arsenal’s struggles this year have been due to a lack of offensive production.
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Proponents of Ozil’s game will correctly point out that he has scored five goals on the campaign. The classy German has historically been criticized for his lack of scoring. That criticism is entirely unfounded for the current season. Ozil only scored six goals in 35 Premier League appearances last year.
Most Arsenal fans probably think his increased scoring more than makes up for his lack of assists. Those fans are dead wrong. Examining Ozil’s Whoscored.com player rating averages for the last two seasons show that his performance has dipped sharply this year.
Last year, Ozil earned an average rating of 7.66 for the year. That mark easily put him among the highest performing midfielders in the Premier League. This season, he’s only averaging a mark of 7.17. That represents a significant drop in form. It’s even more disturbing when you realize how much Ozil’s performance has been boosted by his goal tally. If Ozil can’t keep up his current scoring pace, and history says he can’t, then his player rating will continue to dive.
The first thing you examine when you see such a dip in form is whether or not there are reasons for the player’s physical skills to decline. At 28, Ozil is squarely in the prime of his career. He also hasn’t suffered any major injury. Physically speaking, he should be at the same level this season that he was last year.
The second thing to examine would be whether or not the club had experienced major upheaval. Arsenal have been a very stable team over the last 18 months. Much of the roster has remained the same. In particular, the attackers that surround Ozil have experienced almost zero turnover.
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That leaves us to examine what else has changed in the player’s life. The most obvious change for Ozil has been the emotional stress brought on by contract negotiations. He acts as if he isn’t concerned in the press, but his play says otherwise. It’s the only logical explanation for his dip in form.
If Arsenal want to get Mesut Ozil firing again, they need to make him feel comfortable again. The only way to do that is to give him the sort of contract he so desperately craves. Until an agreement is reached, Gunners fans will have to make do with a lesser version of their German talisman.