Mark O'Connell
The Mesut Ozil saga, by that I mean, unexplained absences, back injuries, poor fitness levels and average performances for the last two years, needs to end.
Unai Emery, Freddie Ljungberg and Mikel Arteta, who played in a midfield alongside Ozil only four years ago, have all decided the World Cup winner does not possess the intensity to play modern Premier League football.
I fully support Arteta and the Arsenal's board's strategy of freezing Ozil out of the team until he decides to find a new club, rather than pay out another £18m in wages which would represent his final year.
It’s not Mesut's fault, it's just not who he is
The era of the mercurial No.10 is fading away, as Real Madrid are encountering almost an identical issue with James Rodriguez, who is also on huge wages and will be difficult for the La Liga Champions to move on.
If it means a loan until the end of his deal while paying for half of his wages, Ozil needs to go. This dark cloud over the Emirates needs to pass.
While Ozil is not the answer to Arsenal's creative issues, it does not mean there aren't any answers to be found. Arsenal's No1 priority in the transfer market this year - even before defensive reinforcements - is a midfielder who creates and scores goals.
Arsenal frustrate as Villa triumph
Last night wasn't great, was it? After climbing over two mountains last week, in stunning fashion on Saturday, Arsenal looked fairly toothless away from home in the league again.
I got a certain sense before the Villa games from some Gooners that we would just walk this game, no matter who Arteta chose as his team.
Arteta, or 'the Mister', as he is sometimes referred to by his players, undoubtedly was under no illusions about the challenge Aston Villa would pose, as he make clear in his pre-match press conference.
How often in the Premier League have we seen supposedly hopeless sides, doomed to the drop, pull out massive upsets in the last few games of the season?
After the Herculean defensive displays against both Liverpool and Manchester City by our gang of misfits at the back, we were forced to play a totally different game against Villa.
Lots of possession, but no penetration, as has been the case in a few games under Arteta this season. Similar to the problem Manchester United faced before the purchase of Bruno Fernandes, Arsenal struggle to break down teams that set up defensively.
But we have Ozil I hear you say? Yes, but we don’t really. Not the Ozil we hoped we were getting when we signed him all those years ago in 2013.
That particular Ozil hasn't been around for a while, and seemed to vanish upon the signing of his new deal in early 2018.
He has managed only one assist under Arteta since December which is clearly not good enough.
So despite the club needing creative talents in midfield, Ozil’s debilitating saga at Arsenal has to end now – for the benefit of the club and the player.
