Arsenal: 5 reasons why Mikel Arteta must keep Mesut Ozil

2. He is working on his flaws

If you were to tell me last season that Mesut Ozil doesn’t deserve a place in the starting XI, I would wholeheartedly agree with you. He simply didn’t put a shift in and often would let the opposing team attack on the break with no help whatsoever.

However, towards the start of Arteta’s reign, there has been a clear improvement in this regard. Especially against Manchester United, the German playmaker tracked back and helped his midfielders out. He wasn’t running around like a headless chicken either since he was occupying the right spaces to prevent any form of counter-attack.

If this hard work continues, then there’s no reason why Ozil shouldn’t frequent the first team on a weekly basis. After all, he has all the talent elsewhere to match.

3. He finally has more assistance on a creative front

There was once a time where Ozil was the primary creator and all eyes were on him. This was fine since he could deal with the pressure but it often affected him after a week or two out of action.

Having the creative onus placed on you and not receiving much help elsewhere is not fun. You wouldn’t want that job and neither would I. That said, the Arsenal attack is now much more fluid and creation-orientated which will benefit Ozil.

The signings of Nicolas Pepe and Kieran Tierney have definitely helped with this. Since creativity often comes from the flanks, Ozil can now focus on dictating the play in the final third as opposed to having the pressure of playing the killer ball. Which he still can and will do, I must do.