Arsenal star Mesut Ozil is a player who divides opinion amongst his own fan-base like no other. The German has been in and out of the team under current coach Unai Emery, prompting countless discussions regarding whether or not he warrants a place in the club’s strongest XI.
Often, those who defend him are labelled as ‘fan boys’ and those who have been unhappy with his performances in recent seasons cannot believe they have seen this statistic floating around the Twitter-sphere and were determined to dismiss it.
@MesutOzil1088 genius
— Filipe Marques (@filipemarques73) November 18, 2019
Ozil has set the bar so high that no current Arsenal player can replace him. I am afraid that will struggle to find his replacement.
— Jerome Nsengiyaremye (@jeromense) November 18, 2019
Did you know he has 5 assists since January 2018 and has been missing since
— Kyle (@Kyle_AFC2003) November 18, 2019
Did you know that Ozil had two assists in 24 league apperences last year?
— Hikmet Saaid (@WengerOUUUT) November 18, 2019
Lol ozil fanboys creating new stats just cause it suites their narrative
— PR (@jumborambo19) November 18, 2019
Man quoted a “MesutOzilStats” account you know…?
— Z-21 ?? (@zuwawi211) November 18, 2019
5 assist since January 2018 love the guy but he’s not the man no more sadly we gooner get too attach to players which stops us from seeing reality. Play him till end of season n look for a replacement long term
— A M (@237akhg) November 18, 2019
— Newh (@NewhouseT) November 18, 2019
What do we think?
The days when Ozil was, arguably, one of the best playmakers in world football are well and truly behind him. However, Arsenal no longer operate in the upper echelons of the Premier League and so a player of his quality is still of much greater use than some of their alternatives.
Emery’s handling of the Ozil situation has been strange from the outset. Alienating the 31-year-old from the squad does not mean the club can suddenly stop paying his wages and so if there is something he can offer to the side he should be included. With the results being as poor as they have in recent weeks, more and more questions are being asked of some of Emery’s key decisions – this proving to be one of the most divisive of them all.
Ozil, who is valued at £22.5 million (as per Transfermarkt), has appeared in just three Premier League games so far this season and is yet to register a goal or an assist. Hardly surprising given his lack of significant game time and having been denied the opportunity to play himself into form.