I predicted that Mesut Özil would be a flop for Arsenal last summer. When rumours of his move to Arsenal surfaced, I was quick to scout out the player to see what he was made of. I didn’t like what I found.
After transferring him to Arsenal in FIFA 13, I played at least five matches with the 25-year-old in midfield, and he was far below the standard I expected. He lacked pace, strength, and was unable to deliver that killer pass all too often. I knew things wouldn’t work out for the playmaker after that short scouting mission, and I’m very sad to have been proven right.
Özil barely registered an important kick of the ball during the 2013/14 season, and he cost us numerous games. His poor attitude and penalty-incompetence allowed Bayern Munich to dump us out of the Champions League, and he was useless in our big Premier League games – the 6-1 defeat to Chelsea being one of his worst performances in an Arsenal shirt. He was barely noticeable throughout the 90 minute match.
His World Cup performances weren’t anything special either. Mesut was a passenger for the duration of the tournament, and he failed to make an impact on any game he played in. Although Germany were the ones who went on to lift the trophy, their triumphant victory had nothing to do with Arsenal’s £42 million star, and it was no surprise seeing him getting replaced by Mertesacker in the 120th minute of the game.
I know that he hasn’t always been like this. When he moved from some German team to Real Madrid in 2010, many football fans thought of him as the best playmaker in Europe. However, poor form and the lack of a winning mentality forced Real Madrid into selling the waste of space, with Arsenal ending up as his unfortunate new club.
Özil just isn’t Premier League quality. Yes, he can occasionally dance around players, but can he perform away at Stoke on a rainy Tuesday? No is obviously the answer.
As much as I wanted Özil’s transfer to work out, I think it’s time Arsene Wenger admitted defeat and sold the midfielder. Despite his poor form, we should still be able to get at least £25 million for him in today’s market, and that money could be spent on some proper midfielders that can hold their own against the Premier League’s best. I’d personally like to see someone like Charlie Adam or Joey Barton come in to add steel and strength to our team. Both players are capable of playing accurate long balls their side’s striker, and both are hard tacklers that would be able to dominate and threaten our opposition.
There is still plenty of time to sell the German playmaker and find a replacement before the 2014/15 season begins. Let’s just hope Wenger has the courage to show last season’s biggest flop the door this summer. Fingers crossed.