UNAI EMERY has taken a position on Mesut Ozil that at best can be described as utterly confused, at worst, vindictive.
Let’s set the stage. Arsenal’s post-Wenger choice arrived at the Emirates with the precious German, 31, as his most costly wage outlay.
The £350k-a-week deal was inked in an Ivan Gazidis (previous CEO) panic, and many questioned the worth at the time.
Emery quickly tired of Mesut in his first season due to his well-known lack of interest in defensive duties.
One would also imagine his regular ‘illness’ problems, his inability to play at Stoke on a rainy Tuesday night, and his penchant for dictators also didn’t add much to the relationship.
It seemed like the club was battling to move him on last summer, but the market reality was that no one is going to pay £18m-a-year to someone that looked to have taken early retirement.
This pre-season, Emery seemed to have a change of heart. The then bleach-blonde German said he wanted to play, the manager played him, we were all looking forward to seeing what this season had in store.
The situation regressed fast, again. The manager adopted an ‘anyone but Mesut’ policy. The German has been benched, left out of squads, or relegated to worthless cup games.
It’s all been a touch humiliating, that is, until Unai Emery made Mesut one of his captains for reasons yet explained.
An utterly baffling decision on any level, especially after the club went to great lengths assure the fans that Ozil didn’t bother in training.
So what to think? At the heart of this debate are two realities the fans are trying to balance.
Reality 1: The player does not suit the style of a manager that prizes running and effort over anything else.
Reality 2: Emery’s ‘style’ is not delivering creativity, so what’s the harm in trying something proven? We’re struggling to break teams down and create, whilst taking an aggressive stance on leaving Ozil out the side.
We’re supposedly prioritising running and effort, but data points to our pressing game faltering, and regardless, it’s not delivering us what we want on the pitch.
If Mesut is a captain, should he not be given a chance to rectify one of our most glaring issues?
The smart decision for Emery now would be to bring the German back into the starting XI.
The inconsistent dithering around the captains’ armband and flip-flopping over his inclusion looks amateur now and I think a lot of fans are shifting into the #TeamOzil camp.
The football couldn’t be any worse than it is at the moment, and the only way to settle the debate this season is to let him loose on the starting 11.
Abraham Lincoln once said of a General that was ignoring him, ‘I’d hold his horse if he can deliver the victory for me.’
Right now, Mesut Ozil is the General, and if Emery wants to kick-start this season, he’s going to have to hold his horse.
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