Arsenal

[suckabov]

As far as I know Ozil has never really been a big game player. He almost always disappeared against Barca if my memory serves me correctly. I know they are of a different caliber to most teams but still, he's very consistent against most teams but not as much when the pressure is on.

Ozil was not that good against Everton, he had a decent game, had he not scored that tap in it would have been a very average performance from him. He is like Coutinho, he goes missing in the big games!

If you lose 6-3, it's hardly your attacking midfielder that deserves crticisim. The defensive performance of Arsenal was abysmal, and while the whole team should help defensively, what was expected of Özil was to inspire something offensively, which he did for 2/3 of Arsenal's goals with one assist and one key pass. Who should really be in the focus of criticism are the back four (most notably Monreal), Wilshere and maybe Giroud. Especially when the defense is criticised, there are 6 players should be looked at before Özil. I don't know how an attacking midfielder should prevent his team from conceding 6 goals other than being played in two positions. As for that "misplaced pass" that led to that one goal, I think that was just as much due to Flamini's poor control. The reason he's used as a scapegoat so much when the whole team plays badly, or when he is even having a good game, is because he cost 50 million and people expect him to somehow magically dictate games Messi-style.
Big games so far this season - he scored one and assisted one against Napoli, inspired the goal against Dortmund away, scored against Everton, assisted one and created one against ManCity. For Real Madrid, he made 14 assist and 3 goals in CL and 9 assists and 1 goal in 15 clasicos. Call that what you want. For Germany, I've never seen him "disappear" in big games, except for those two semi-finals against Spain and Italy in the WC and Euros where the whole team disappeared and, consequently, lost. Not sure if you want to call the WC qualification games big, but in that campaign he was Europe's third best topscorer with 8 goals in 887 minutes, whereas Cristiano scored 8 in 900. I know it's 3 years ago, but his performances against Argentina and England are still some of the most impressive things from the world cup to me.

Anyhow, yes, he's not the most "notable" of players and he has a tendency to "disappear" only to come up with an assist out of nowhere, but his reputation is far worse than reality, this season at least. He's improved defensively since joining Arsenal, added new dimensions to his game and has a great work rate; as I said he runs ~11km each game, which is only topped by Ramsey.

 

[Cule4life]

Wilshere Monreal and Giroud were flops of the match.

 

[antonnn]

Oh I wasn't blaming Ozil for that match, or any other match for that matter, I was just talking in general since a few Arsenal fans here had a bit to say about him, that's all. He's not exactly terrible in all his bigger games, pulling out an assist is better than people not even remembering you were there, but he doesn't always seem to maintain the same level he does in all his other matches, nor does he seem to up his game, and that's how you're labeled a big game player. Putting in decent performances won't get you that tag. It's just how it is, not all talented players can do it, but there's always room to improve. I mean Ronaldo used to go missing in big games and now he's extremely dependable, Ozil can do that, I mean he's only 25? Though as was mentioned earlier he's not that dominant player who will be as noticed like Suarez for example. Don't take it the wrong way it's not I'm not saying he's not a good player, he's brilliant, and is probably a contender for player of the year so far. He's got plenty of room for improvement though, he's much better now than when he first joined Real Madrid, and he's probably better again after joining Arsenal.

Because I've said all this I bet he's going to dominate and assist 3 goals next week against Chelsea. Karma!

 

[AnfieldEd]

It is a fair assessment actually which normal people will agree with.

 

[suckabov]

Oh I wasn't blaming Ozil for that match, or any other match for that matter, I was just talking in general since a few Arsenal fans here had a bit to say about him, that's all. He's not exactly terrible in all his bigger games, pulling out an assist is better than people not even remembering you were there, but he doesn't always seem to maintain the same level he does in all his other matches, nor does he seem to up his game, and that's how you're labeled a big game player. Putting in decent performances won't get you that tag. It's just how it is, not all talented players can do it, but there's always room to improve. I mean Ronaldo used to go missing in big games and now he's extremely dependable, Ozil can do that, I mean he's only 25? Though as was mentioned earlier he's not that dominant player who will be as noticed like Suarez for example.

It is a fair assessment actually which normal people will agree with.

I do. I just think it's not as big of an issue as some make it out to be, as for every big game he disappeared in I can name one where he dominated, for Arsenal and his whole career. But what this shows and what is definitely true is that he's not consistent in big games, and that probably needs improving for a player with his talents and skillset. I just feel that a lot of criticism coming towards him is thanks to his price tag and to his overall more subtle style of play which a lot of people seem to misunderstand. Some people seem to expect him to entertain the millions with every touch of the ball, which of course he won't do. He's not a player who takes the game by the scruff of the neck, but neither is a pure number 10 supposed to in my book. Also, the fact that it's his first EPL season and many, many quality players have struggled before him (Bergkamp for example) tends to get overlooked, probably because he was pricy.

But as I said, he's not as consistent in big games as he could be, and that's one of the things he could improve. That's why I completely agree with this:

Don't take it the wrong way it's not I'm not saying he's not a good player, he's brilliant, and is probably a contender for player of the year so far. He's got plenty of room for improvement though, he's much better now than when he first joined Real Madrid, and he's probably better again after joining Arsenal.

It's clear he's not a complete player yet, nor is he at the end of his development, and I think Arsenal is a good place for him to grow. RM was never really ideal for a more artistic player type like him and I think Wenger knows how to handle those well. It's probably not the best place if you want to win trophy after trophy but for individual improvement it's the right place for him.

 

[GoobiePls]

Arsenal in 2014 - February: Liverpool (a), Man Utd (h), Bayern (h). March: Bayern (a), Tottenham (a), Chelsea (a), Man City (h). #afc

Could be worse

 

[antonnn]

Ouch. Your whole season could be up in flames by the end.

 

[Ketoth]

I'm laughing, I really am

 

[pEllee]

A perfect draw. And I really mean that.

 

[Raed]

For those who have seen Ozil week in week out for three years straight and seen his development would know that he simply hasn't imrpoved drastically in his weak areas, he improved his fitness and become an absolutely slick final 3rd player, which he already was but even became better.

He never dominated or controlled the tempo of the game, it just isn't his forte nor his game at all. In fact I don't think he even tries to do that at all. It isn't objective but if you need a ball in the back of the net or delivered on a silver platter he will do it in 1 or 2 touches. So naturally in big games where his team mates who do most of the controlling are suffering his effect diminshes, which is why he "disappears" but you'd find that he has an assist or an important ball in even though he might not have imposed himself on a game.

It is why his numbers are ridiculous for Real Madrid but with Khedira, Ronaldo both not being the best play makers for Madrid, and Xabi facing his end we suffered in the CL when we faced a juggernaught. Even then, his numbers are pretty good.

This is Ozil, a bit of a brat too but it can be contained with a bit of catering.

 

[suckabov]

A perfect draw. And I really mean that.

Agreed. Go out and you can concentrate fully on the league, go through and you will have the most formidable confidence boost.

Also, on Özil, old but extremely good article analysing his "quiet" style of play on espn:

It is Ozil that makes the side play, and his appreciation of space is incredible. He has a phenomenal ability to drift between the lines and find himself free. So often you could pause the game and draw a triangle or a square around the three or four players closest to him; Ozil would be precisely in the center. It's a difficult thing to quantify, difficult to outline why being five yards from the midfield and five yards from the defense is significantly better to being, say, seven yards from the midfield and three yards from the defence, but at this level, margins like that matter.

His thinking in such situations doesn't stop there. When one of the opposing players realizes Ozil is free and moves toward him, Ozil recognizes he's now being tracked and replicates his opponent's movement to keep a good distance between himself and his marker. There's two effects of that. First, the other opposition players see he's being tracked by a teammate so don't bother picking him up, despite the fact that the defender is never in control of the situation. Second, the opponent becomes dragged out of position to leave a gap for someone else to exploit. It sounds simple enough on paper, but it's more difficult to combine this constant movement with the actual concept of playing football -- getting the ball, creating chances. He's not just playing tag.


With Ronaldo and Di Maria in a line of three, Ozil is beside two players who love coming inside. Many typical number tens would find this frustrating. Ozil instead helps the side retain fluidity by moving to the outside. In particular, when a lateral ball is played to a Real fullback from one of the central midfielders, Ozil will make an arced run into that same channel. It's an unusual movement, going away from the dangerous central area of the pitch, and neither the opposition holding midfielder nor the relevant fullback knows who should be tracking him. In the confusion, it's often Ronaldo or Di Maria who can then make the opposite run and be the one in a dangerous position, ending up with the glory.


Few other players in football give the impression of always thinking. Ozil is always glancing around him, always looking over his shoulder to see where the space is. He's so concerned with making sure defenders don't track him that he occasionally does something Thierry Henry used to do in his Arsenal days, drifting out wide to the touchline and standing still, as if disinterested from the game, before bursting into life. Does it work? Rarely. Defenders aren't that stupid, but it shows Ozil's mentality, how he's constantly trying to get some space, trying to escape the attention of defenders.

Explains his "quiet" attitude pretty well imo.

 

[Cule4life]

Dont use this text colour. Some of us are using other skins

 

[suckabov]

Me? I'm using black colour.

Edit: Ah, saw it now, didn't notice it adopts the text colour if you copy something, fixed.

 

[beautifulgame]

lol arsenal to get shitted on.

 

[Semi-Neutral]

Podolski is Hulk