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There has been much debate about the form of Mesut Ozil of late. He is quietly going about his work and without reaching the heights we all know he is capable of, his very presence lifts the team. It is perhaps unfair and unrealistic to expect goals, assists and fireworks every match.
The recent interview with Santi in the Guardian just illustrates the impact the German’s arrival has had on the squad. When a seasoned Spanish international who himself is one of the best players in the Premierships reacts -“I was,” he laughs, “like a little kid.” like that you know how special Ozil is.
“It was strange. I spoke to friends at Real Madrid who told me that Mesut was talking to Arsenal, that he wanted to leave. You hear about it but you still see it as something a long way off. You think, ‘How are Madrid going to let Mesut go?’ It’s puzzling. He’s one of the best in the world and you don’t really believe it. We were talking about it: ‘It’s close … it could happen … they’ve agreed …’ Then one day the manager said: ‘We’ve signed Mesut.’ And the happiness was immense.
Match turning moments and brilliance will come from him but is not always going to be the case but like with Bergkamp he has become the go to player. He is invariably in the right position to receive the pass and his team mates know that even in a tight situation as with Dennis it will stick. I heard Ray Parlour talk about Bergkamp in this vein. He basically said if a team mate was in possession but surrounded by opposition players Bergkamp would instinctively move himself into the one and only possible position to receive the pass. So the player in difficulty would always have an outlet and possession was retained. I think Ozil just maybe only the second player since DB10, the other being Cesc to a degree, whose ‘football brain’ operates at that level.
I wanted to make it clear at outset that this is not in any way a kneejerk reaction to recent games from the German playmaker, but I do feel it might be appropriate to rest Ozil this weekend and potentially for Hull as well for the following reasons:-
- Whilst I am old school when it comes to selecting a first 11 we must all now accept that to fight on all fronts, as we appear to gearing up to do we must see rotation.
- Theo Walcott is now fit and after 2 brief cameos, to regain full match fitness ahead of the tougher contests later in December Walcott needs games.
- Whilst Wilshere has proved effective at times playing wide we will need Walcott’s pace to stretch teams and we should take advantage of a revitalized Jack whilst we have him and get him some time in the centre to see if he can pull the strings.
- Cazorla too has not yet hit his best form since returning from injury. We just began to see glimpses against Southampton for him to be rested midweek. Santi needs a 90 minute run out for me.
- Ozil will be needed at his best for the matches against Everton, Napoli, City etc and he has played so much football since arriving. Premiership football can have a higher tempo than La Liga. Ozil rarely completed 90 minutes for Madrid latterly but has been asked to do so more often than not for Arsenal. He looks jaded to me and in need of a breather.
- I think in the 15 games Arsenal have played Ozil has started all barring The Chelsea League Cup game.
- Cardiff have some impressive results under their belt at home but With our current form and those we have chomping at the bit to play it does appear a sensible game to rest Mesut.
All of the above are valid reasons from my perspective to rest Mesut Ozil. However the most significant reason is not listed above and that is the message it sends out to the other top sides who considered us unworthy rivals in August.
We can rest our £42m signing and it will not weaken us in the Premier League.
Can others say the same?
Have Man City coped at the back without Vincent Kompany away from home? NO!
Do Man City rest Yaya Toure? NO! Not on one single occasion in the EPL this season? He has stared 12/12
Do Man City rest Sergio Aguero? NO! he has started 11 out of 12 and came on in the one match he did not start. Oh and the came he did not start City failed to score and drew 0-0 with Stoke
Do Man United rest Wayne Rooney? NO! He came on as substitute after a short pre-season on match day one and has stared 11/11 since. Oh and the first game away at Swansea they were struggling until he came on a scored 2.
Do Man United rest Michael Carrick? NO! he stared all of the first 10 matches pre-injury
Do Chelsea rest Oscar or Hazard? NO! Both have started 11 or of 12 matches.
Do Liverpool rest Luis Suarez? NO! He has started all 7 games since suspension and only come off for 12 minutes in one game.
Offensively we are so strong that we can rest Mesut Ozul in order to accommodate perhaps the following:
A future England captain who scored 2 goals in his last game.
Our current Player of the Year who scored one and assisted on 14 occasions last season.
A player who scored 12 and assisted on 11 occasions in the League last season.
I think we might cope, do you?
