What a gift Mesut Özil is.
Özil has more goals and assists than any German in Premier League history. Yet you’d never know it from the way he is treated. Underappreciated and misunderstood but oh so many for his languid demeanour, one can’t help but feel that if he hailed from a South American nation he would be more appreciated for the artist that he is.
Instead he exists in the world as a German who, as soon as he lets loose any murmurs of discontent regarding German society, is ostracized and ridiculed in a cold, unfeeling way. A way that only seems to validate his initial point whilst at the same time pretending that point is absurd and doesn’t exist. Meanwhile his role in Germany’s triumphs have been minimised and his part in the downfall expanded.
In many ways, the German has been the biggest victim of Leo Messi’s greatness. The Argentine plays the passes Özil does, but then also dribbles like Eden Hazard and scores like Cristiano Ronaldo. “If he can do it why can’t Özil?” seems to be the unspoken mentality that deems him a failure, which is absurd. Sure, Mesut Özil is not the greatest player of all-time, but he is a true artist. An unappreciated genius, much like Vincent Van Gogh was in his time.
That is what makes Özil an easy target for critics. The fact that he’s a playmaker. A creator. It must be frustrating for him to be so very good at what he does and yet be so reliant on the whims of his team-mates to truly get the glory he deserves.
As a mediapunta (a no. 10, essentially) Özil exists between the lines of an opponent’s midfield and defence, that’s where he does his damage, and therefore is only as good as the players passing to him and the players he’s passing to.
Too often this has been where the Gunners have let him down, and is usually the source of his so-called disappearance in big games. “When Arsenal are not dominating games he’s absent,” said Graeme Souness after last night’s destruction of Leicester. To which one can only furrow one’s brow and mutter “well duh.”
Of course a no. 10 struggles when his side doesn’t have the ball. He’s an attacking player! And as for contributing in said games, well when he doesn’t get the ball in the right places, and the guys ahead of him aren’t making the right runs (or they mess up when they receive the pass) then what effect can he truly have?
So his time at Arsenal has come to define him, which until now had a negative effect on perceptions of him. Even though his arrival coincided with Arsenal upping their game enough to end their decade-long trophy drought and winning three FA Cups in four seasons.
Regardless, perceptions of the no. 10 may soon change, because under Unai Emery’s astute tactical influence, it looks like Arsenal are assembling a side and system to get the very best out of Mesut Özil.
The arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gives Mesut Özil the thing he craves most of all: a fast striker. Someone whose off-the-ball movement is boosted by a searing speed; who has the pace to make half-chances into full chances.
It’s not a coincidence that Aubameyang scored two goals in seven minutes after coming on against Leicester. The Gabonese international is a perfect foil for Özil in a way that Theo Walcott never ended being (it’s not enough to be fast, one must also move smartly).
In attack, Alexandre Lacazette is a perfect no. 9 for Özil because he is capable of both excellent and selfless moments of interplay but can also be relied upon for the kind of quick and incisive movement and consistent goalscoring that previous striker Olivier Giroud often failed to develop (although Giroud did very well playing alongside Özil).
With a fast forward coming off the left-flank and an elite, supremely intelligent no. 9 leading the line, Mesut Özil basically has the closest thing to the set-up he did at Real Madrid where Cristiano Ronaldo played from the left and Karim Benzema was up-front.
Özil flew in that system, because he was surrounded by intelligent players whose movement complimented his own. Alex Iwobi isn’t quite Angel Di Maria but he has similar qualities of ceaseless defensive effort and an ability to dribble with the ball. These obviously compliment the more lackadaisical Özil, giving him more freedom to “be himself.”
Of course Iwobi not quite being the creativity machine Di Maria was is balanced out by the presence of Héctor Bellerin. The flying Catalan full-back is an unreal outlet for Özil’s passes on the right. His sheer pace and persistence in attack means he is always available for the German to pass to.
The victory against Leicester showed just how dynamic this combination can be under Unai Emery, as both men were involved in all three goals that Arsenal scored in a big way; Bellerin ended up with two assists whilst Özil had a goal and assist.
The centre of midfield, the men most responsible for passing the ball to Özil, are finally excellent footballers. The arrival of Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi has given the Gunners a reliability in the centre of the pitch that they haven’t had since that one season Mathieu Flamini played so far ahead of his level he ended up being a worthy partner for Cesc Fabregas.
These two young midfielders not only win the ball back, but they get it forward quickly (check Torreira’s key involvement in the masterpiece of a third goal vs. Leicester, splitting the Leicester lines with an incisive pass). The duo have also forced Granit Xhaka to up his game; the Swiss can no longer stroll into the side as the only passer, so he has to play better.
All of these players have combined to create the perfect canvas upon which Mesut Özil can finally express himself to the fullest. And we, the rest of the footballing world, can finally begin to appreciate the artistry and leadership (yes, leadership, he wasn’t captain vs. Leicester by accident) that Arsenal’s players have been living with ever since he joined.
“I get the privilege to play with him every day,” said Iwobi of Özil, adding: “He jokes around but always tells me I can do more — even last night [vs. Leicester] he was saying I can do more, he is always one of those guys […] always happy, always encouraging me and giving me the confidence to express myself.”
Maybe, just maybe, Mesut Özil can finally start being appreciated for what he is than what he isn’t. One of football’s last true artists. A genius capable of creating true beauty on the football pitch.
The post Mesut Ozil: football’s Van Gogh finally has his ideal canvas appeared first on Squawka News.
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