Siddy Shivdasani
Mesut Ozil first caught the eye of most at the 2010 World Cup. Busy, intuitive, incisive and a sublime first touch. It was no surprise when Real Madrid snapped him up from Werder Bremen that summer. The surprise was that they only paid £16.6million for him.
I thought signing him in 2013 for £42.5million (Real needed cash to finance the Bale deal) bought Wenger two years. That was nearly three and a half years ago…
My only reservation about signing him is a paradox: That he decided to come to us… because it showed a lack of ambition! It’s like if you have pulled a lovely, gorgeous girl and your only worry is: “What’s wrong with her to be with me?!”
Anyway, Gooners are divided on whether he has been a success. His stats are impeccable but he always gets it in the neck for not turning up for the big games. IMO, most of our team doesn’t turn up for those encounters and I feel it is unfair on him that he is always the scapegoat just because he is our record signing.
We lack the muscle and bottle to give him a bit of space against top teams.
His perceived lack of work rate is tied up with his particular type of game, he’s a ghoster. The way he slips under the radar and then pops up with a killer pass when defences switch off, well, he’s simply the best in the business at that (just ask “he knows all my moves” Cristiano Ronaldo).
Cast your mind back to Freddie Ljungberg. He was a different sort of midfielder, playing in a different position and he did his fair share of graft (mainly off the ball). But likewise, he wouldn’t have have got a sniff of being in the team if it wasn’t for the way he ghosted in, and converted so many chances.
So I’m quite disturbed by the “Wenger and Ozil out” trend among some hardcore WOBs. I believe the German World Cup winner is our best player, the brain of the team, a genius. How many better number tens are there on the planet?
I understand why Sanchez is more popular. If our all our players had his passion then we’d be ten points clear at the top of the table. But in my opinion, the Chilean’s efforts are merely highlighting the slack attitude of those around him. He is also world class but would be easier to satisfactorily replace than Nemo.
There were rumblings nearly a year ago that Ozil wanted out if Wenger signed another contract and I was heartily encouraged by those sentiments. But in recent weeks, he has spoken on the record to stay he wants AW to sign another contract before he does. Balls.
I accept that Ozil is regarded by many as a prima donna and some of that has been borne out by his media mind games. And I share others’ fears that he wants our mis-manager to stay because he gives him an easy ride. That’s modern football. Player power.
There have been a lot of comparisons between Ozil and Bergkamp and I can see that. But the Dutch impressionist was different class off the pitch compared to most of the today’s stars. No big ego, never running to the press with grumbles. And he could look after himself on the pitch as well, look but don’t touch!
I suspect Ozil is playing a complex game with his contract negotiations and I’m not even going to speculate about what’s going on there. But I desperately want him to stay… nearly as much as I want Wenger out. Nearly.
It’s a sickening dilemma.
My gut feeling is that Ozil and Sanchez would be a lot more willing to put pen to paper if we were moving forward with the real prospect of winning either the PL or CL. It is a mammoth understatement to say that many of us fans share those frustrations.
Our world class pair seem to have a genuine bond, personally and professionally, and my hope is that might tip the balance when it comes to committing their futures to us. But what Ozil needs more than anything (no, not more money) is a kick up the arse.
I vaguely recall a story about Tony Adams getting on the team bus after a disappointing result before we started hunting down Man Ure to secure the title in 1998. He went up to Bergkamp and said something like: “Isn’t about f***ing time you won something?”
Who do we have of such stature now to say that to Ozil?
