It’s pretty obvious for most Arsenal fans that things haven’t been going according to plan for Arsenal this season.
Arsenal scraped together a 2-2 draw against Manchester City on Sunday after a loss to West Brom put Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger under pressure to resign. But, it’s not all his fault for recent bad performances. Arsenal fans ripped into their own star player Mesut Ozil after the Manchester City game with the main claim being that he’s a ‘ghost’ in big games.
Arsenal are now sixth and two points behind Manchester United and are at threat of missing out on their usual Champions League place.
A large amount of that blame is being directed toward manager Arsene Wenger but it’s not all the Frenchman’s fault. Fans and pundits alike have targeted some of their anger towards certain individuals whom they say aren’t pulling their weight.
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The main alleged culprit is Mesut Ozil.
He’s had a pretty average season in terms of his performances and a quick look at his stats show that.
Ozil has scored only five goals and made five assists this season from 23 appearances. Compare that with his six goals and an astounding 19 assists last season and it’s clear hes had a major dip in form. But not only is he not getting the assists he normally gets but his workrate has been questioned as well.
Gary Neville told Skysports before the game:
"“Mesut Ozil, I can’t be doing with watching him play football sometimes to be honest with you.“When you watch [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo give their absolute all in every single match, I’m sorry but I’m not going to sit here as a football person and accept someone who plays football like he’s down a coal mine.’"
He also teared into Ozil after the game.
"“Mesut Ozil goes through on goal and bottles out of a challenge when his manager’s backside is on the line. Go for a 50-50 or nick in front and get the penalty – win the ball.”"
But it’s not just pundits that have criticized the German midfielder. Arsenal fans are tearing into the 28-year-old playmaker saying that he’s a ghost in games and some are even quite funny. Here are the best of the bunch:
One world class German midfielder... and Mesut Ozil#ARSMCI pic.twitter.com/QibVnMa9fW
— Ladbrokes (@Ladbrokes) April 2, 2017
When I said a couple of months ago that Ozil is a luxury player, people couldn't accept it.But today it was made obvious. He's not a fighter
— ArsenalArena (@ArsenalArena) April 2, 2017
YOU'VE GOT ÖZIL
— Daniel. (@Danderweireld) April 2, 2017
MESUT ÖZIL
I JUST DONT THINK YOU UNDERSTAND
HE ONLY DISAPPEARS
HE BRINGS YOU ALL TO TEARS
YOU'VE GOT MESUT OZIL 🎶
Nice change from Ozil today. Not invisible in a big game, instead deciding to be so bad everyone notices him
— 101 Great Goals (@101greatgoals) April 2, 2017
Otamendi, who cost £50m, just gifts Ozil a chance. Luckily for him, Mesut Ozil is now a translucent being without any physical conviction.
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) April 2, 2017
Well, I think that’s enough tweets from Arsenal fans to show you the point. Ozil jut simply hasn’t been good enough for the Gunners this season. He plays like a sunday league player who’s had a big night out and is just waiting for the game to end because he’s hungover.
He just doesn’t seem to run around, make challenges for the ball, get into aerial duels and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him truly sprint for a 50-50 ball to win it. It’s clear he’s a good passer of the ball, don’t get me wrong, but when the good passer of the ball who can’t defend, stops making good passes, that’s when they’re in trouble. Ozil is in trouble.
It seems he’s possibly not going to be at Arsenal next season according to vague widespread reports but the whole situation at Arsenal is quite vague at the moment. Will Wenger go or stay? Honestly I’m over reading about it but hopefully for the Arsenal fans things improve. Ozil will need to step up.
But to be fair to Arsenal fans, they fought well to earn a draw with Manchester City, but things need to improve fast.