Football: Why Mesut Ozil will continue to give Arsenal fans headaches.

Mesut Ozil has often cut a frustrated figure during his tenure in England. Frequently taking the brunt of criticism from pundits and fans due to his perceived lazy play style and lack of quality performances in big games. Coming off the back of a very disappointing World Cup and Arsenal very much in transition; what does the future for Mesut Ozil look like?

Arsenal have just seen off their most disappointing season in 22 years and are in the process of a mass overhaul of the club’s structure which has seen pillar of Arsenal Football Club, Arsene Wenger, shown the door. Under Wenger last season it was felt that Mesut Ozil was being given an easy ride by the powers that be. Ozil missed numerous games throughout the season citing illness and back strains as reasons why, despite alleged images of him in Istanbul during match day appearing on social media.

With Wenger shown the door an optimism surrounded Arsenal. Giving hope that, new boss, Unai Emery will get the best out of, what on paper is, a very good squad.

In Emery’s first press conference he laid out that he would like to be aggressive off the ball and play a pressing style of football. ‘And when you don’t have the possession of the ball, I want a squad, very intensive for the pressing.’  This left some Arsenal fans to crack jokes at Ozil’s expense due to his history of perceived laziness. For me this is not what will see Ozil struggle but is the other side of the same coin. It is the other sides pressing Ozil that will see him struggle.

Football comes in trends, with pressing football being the new trend taking over from its predecessor of possession football. Pressing footballs ride to prominence originates in Germany where Jurgen Klopp used hard work and pressure, often referring to it as ‘Rock and Roll football’, to nullify the more flair players of German powerhouse Bayern Munich beating them to two successive Bundesliga titles. From there it swept across the footballing landscape.

Pressing football seeks to close down and hassle the opposition into conceding possession or over ride their key players ability to have an impact on the game. Something we have seen have a history of working against Mesut Ozil. In the opening game of the 2015/2016 season Arsenal hosted West Ham and eyebrows were raised as the team sheets were announced. Reece Oxford, the second youngest player to play in the Premier League (16 years 236 days) was given his West Ham debut and tasked with marking the World Cup winning midfielder, Mesut Ozil. Oxford harassed and pressured Ozil with every chance he got, nullifying the £42 million German throughout the 90 minutes. West Ham would win that game 2-0.

Jump forward 3 years to Russia World Cup 2018; defending champions Germany started their tournament against a resilient Mexico side. Mexico’s coach, Jaun Carlos Osorio, showed his tactical nous, instructing the Mexican underdogs to press the two players that make Germany tick, Mesut Ozil and Toni Kroos, restricting their ability to impact the game. Along with some dodgy defending and wing backs pushing too high up the pitch, the warning signs of how to curb the Germans were there to be seen. Mexico would go on to win that game 1-0 thanks to a Hirving Lozano goal. But, frankly, it could have been a wider score. Germany would eventually finish bottom of their group and board an early flight home.

Undoubtedly, on his day, Mesut Ozil can be the player who can set the world alight with his vision and passing. 4 years ago, he was considered one of the worlds best but since then football has evolved. Ozil has not. He is a wonderful player but in a very specific set of circumstances. The £300,000 a week star now has a massive opportunity to show doubters wrong and become a reformed, improved player under the more modern coaching of Unai Emery.