Why Mesut Ozil Is Absolutely Pivotal to Arsenal's Top-4 Push

By swapping shirts with an opponent at half-time—an unforgivable cardinal sin in the modern game—Mesut Ozil set himself up as a convenient scapegoat for Arsenal’s failure to overturn a two-goal deficit against Monaco in the last 16 of the Champions League.

The German indeed came in for criticism after the Gunners’ European exit, with television pundit and former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes leading condemnation of Ozil’s conduct. “I don’t like it,” he moaned. “At the end of the game, maybe. But I’m not a big fan even then.”

Some, it would seem, were just waiting for an opportunity to blame Ozil for Arsenal’s Champions League humiliation. But the former Real Madrid playmaker deserved better. Such a reaction showed a degree of contempt for a player who has been one of Arsenal’s best since the turn of the year.

In fact, according to the CIES Football Observatory, Ozil ranks alongside Eden Hazard as the most productive attacking midfielder in European football in 2015, as per the Daily Mail. The rankings are based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)—shooting, chance creation, take-on, distribution, recovery and rigour—with the German coming out extremely favourably.

Injury hampered Ozil’s start to the 2014/15 season, missing Arsenal’s fixture pile-up over the winter period. Whether it was noticed or not, the Gunners missed their understated German playmaker. Arsene Wenger’s team faltered over November and December, as Arsenal suffered damaging defeats to Swansea City, Man Utd, Stoke City, and Southampton on New Year’s Day. 

Without Ozil in the team, Arsenal lacked creativity around the edge of the box. Wenger’s stable of potent attackers—Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck—struggled without a supply line. And yet on the basis of media coverage, and maybe even fans consensus, Ozil’s absence was barely noted.

By contrast, Arsenal have lost just once—against Tottenham Hotspur—with Ozil in the team since the German’s return from injury in January. The Gunners have scored 32 goals in the 13 appearances Ozil has made since his return in a 3-0 win over Stoke on January 11. His assist ratio of six from 18 games is among the best in the Premier League. 

And yet Ozil still finds himself the subject of criticism not just from the press, but from his own supporters. The German is still, in terms of public perception, suffering from a lethargic debut season as an Arsenal player following his club record £42.5 million move from Real Madrid.

It seems almost negligent to reduce a player of such quality to the lowest denominator, but at times last season, it was as if Ozil was failing to live up to his reputation purely through a lack of effort. The German was perceived as lacking the necessary heart and fight to succeed in the Premier League, and such criticism was understandable considering his lacklustre debut season in England.

“He has gone through a difficult spell because physically he was not as present as you would expect him,” Wenger felt the need to clarify through Arsenal’s official website towards the end of last season. “I can understand the judgement when you wanted more of him, but I think you are right that you see his quality when he is not there.”

The Arsenal boss' comments turned out to be somewhat prescient this season, given how the north London club missed Ozil through injury over the winter. But even with the playmaker back on the pitch, he suffers for not being a blood-and-thunder player in a blood-and-thunder league. For all his quality and significance, Ozil remains an outcast. A shimmering and often mercurial outcast.

Wenger signed Ozil without an obvious place for him in his team. Santi Cazorla was already Arsenal’s No. 10, with Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere forming the Gunners’ central midfield unit. Cazorla was subsequently pushed out to the left, with Wilshere pushed out of the side altogether at times, but at first, Arsenal were unbalanced by Ozil’s arrival.

But with time, Arsenal’s front line has grown more and more interchangeable, to the extent that fluidity in attack is now the Gunners’ biggest strength. And Ozil is an integral part in that system. A less technically capable player would be unable to perform such a role, and yet it is something that comes to the German easily.

It might not manifest itself in the traditional manner, through sweat and tears, crunching tackles and lung-busting runs, but Ozil has shown himself to be a mentally stronger individual this season. There has been a reaction from the German in recent months.

For instance, Ozil followed up his performance against Monaco—after which he faced a media and public backlash for his half-time shirt swap—by providing two assists in a 2-0 home win over Everton, and preceded it with a run of four games over the course of which he scored three times and put on two assists.

“The first season is the season in which you adapt and then you know what will happen and you go into it,” added Wenger in just defence of Ozil last season. “And I believe that he will know better his partners, he will know better the league and the potential is absolutely fantastic. He will improve with goals and assists, and his presence in the game.”

Wenger was largely correct, as Ozil has indeed adapted to life in the Premier League and a place at Arsenal, even if such development has gone unnoticed. And yet Ozil continues to face the same criticism.

The 26-year-old is reported to have bore the brunt of Wenger’s wrath after he was spotted clubbing in Berlin just hours after missing Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Newcastle United with illness. Once again, Ozil’s commitment has been called into question, and it must be pondered how many more times his Arsenal career can endure such scrutiny. 

But if Arsenal are to secure Champions League qualification for an 18th successive season, Ozil will be as important to that charge as any other player. Increasingly, when Ozil plays well, so do Arsenal. The correlation is clear.

Ozil is guilty of swapping shirts at half-time and perhaps not running as hard or as fast as he should. But he’s certainly not guilty of underperforming at Arsenal. He is a convenient scapegoat, but that doesn’t mean that he should be used as one.