If you think that Mesut Özil has been anything less than sensational since his move to Arsenal in 2013, then you shouldn’t be supporting a Champions League club.
That statement may sound extreme, but it’s true.
Much has been made of the Premier League’s best failing to get past the last 16 of the Champions League this season – assuming Manchester City, who have yet to play at the time of writing, fail to qualify – and people have started to question why the ‘best league in the world’ is struggling in Europe.
In my opinion, Mesut Özil is the embodiment of all that is wrong with English football, and, in particular, the culture surrounding it. Although the 26-year-old has received high praise from a selection of pundits and fans over the past two seasons, there are a much larger number of doubters – critics who refuse to give him any credit for any performance – that have been able to cloud Özil’s excellent contribution with ignorance and absurdities.
Despite oozing with skill and class, Mesut is routinely criticized for two things: not running around enough and occasionally looking a bit sad. As ridiculous as these criticisms look in writing, they have been put forward by hundreds of fans – and more worryingly, a few pundits – on numerous occasions over the past two years.
The reason for this is simple. English football is cemented in an ideology. It is firmly believed by the majority of fans that the Premier League is the best in the world because anyone can beat anyone; and the reason anyone can beat anyone is because the style of the Premier League is abnormally reliant on brute strength and theatrical desire when compared to the other top leagues in Europe.
Most fans don’t want to see their star players execute subtle movement and elegant touches – they want to see them dive into challenges and run up and down the pitch until they’re no longer able to stand. These Sunday league qualities are easy to spot and instantly gratifying. You can’t miss a player sprinting back to slide in for a last-ditch challenge, but you can miss that same player delaying his pass by a split second to open up a yard of space for a teammate 20 metres ahead of him.
This explains why Özil has been receiving such harsh criticism. Everything that Mesut does isn’t meant to be seen at a glance. His exceptional movement and positioning are understated by design, rather than lack of commitment. His hunched stance and muted body language are used to mask the hints of his next move. Although these qualities have a massive impact on the game, they aren’t as easily noticeable as the work rate of Alexis Sanchez or the exaggerated passion of Jack Wilshere, and Özil’s reputation suffers because of it.
And Mesut isn’t the only victim of this poor criticism. Manchester United’s Angel Di Maria has been targeted by various pundits this season, most of whom believe that he hasn’t done enough for United since joining last summer. It’s almost as if these people take pleasure in convincing themselves that these World Cup finalists don’t have the fight and desire required to cut it in the battle-hungry Colosseum that is the Premier League.
‘How dare these skilled foreigners come over here and try to win games by outplaying, rather than outfighting, the opposition! Why aren’t they running around more? Why don’t they shoot whenever they are remotely close to goal?’ Perhaps these pundits would be happier watching a relegation scrap in League 2, rather than the very best in the world compete for honours at the highest level?
The Premier League is still, in my opinion, the best league in the world, but it is nowhere near as good as it thinks it is. Until England learns to encourage skill and diminish the importance of displaying passion on the pitch, the Premier League’s top four sides will continue to lag behind the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich when it comes to Champions League dominance.
Yes, the theatrical element of English football is fantastic and should be cherished, but you have to get the balance right. Quality simply must come before physical ability if England’s top teams are to dominate Europe again.
The Premier League has not shown Mesut Özil to be a failure; Mesut Özil has shown the failings of the Premier League.