{"id":2043,"date":"2020-09-04T04:19:35","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T04:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/?p=2043"},"modified":"2020-09-04T12:45:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T12:45:17","slug":"freezing-out-ozil-arteta-is-playing-with-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/freezing-out-ozil-arteta-is-playing-with-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Freezing Out Ozil, Arteta Is Playing With Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ozil and Arteta. Where has the love gone?<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

I have been one of Mikel Arteta\u2019s biggest supporters as manager of Arsenal Football Club. Following in the footsteps of my podcasting colleague Blackburn George, aka @arseblagger, I was among those who identified him as the most qualified successor to Arsene Wenger long before he was appointed.<\/p>\n

But since football resumed after the suspension due to Covid-19, it seems to me Mikel Arteta is forgetting some of what initially made him successful in his job. He may have won the FA Cup but Arsenal failed to meet the minimum that was expected of him; make the top-6. That is the least of a club of Arsenal\u2019s stature should achieve.<\/p>\n

It seems to me Mikel Arteta decided he can succeed without Mesut Ozil. In my opinion it is a fatal mistake and if not rectified soon, Arsenal is likely to repeat the calamitous finish to last season and Arteta will have no one to blame but himself.<\/p>\n

After Arteta\u2019s first 10 premier league games as manager Arsenal almost went unbeaten, in the process defeating the old enemy Manchester United and played to an exciting loss Chelsea (Martinelli excelling with the goal of the season). As a result the mood among fans was transformed from general despair, as Emery\u2019s team often found ways to pull defeat out of the jaws of victory, to near ecstasy. So extreme was the optimism, it led me to write a blog last January that \u201cExpectations Are Too High For Mikel Arteta.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

At the time I was quite concerned about the lack of depth in the squad and warned Arteta in my blog that:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026.with the lack of depth in your squad and the rigors of the upcoming winter months, trying to succeed in all three competitions is a tall order. Every blogger and podcaster is raving about how since your first day starting with that memorable press conference, you have demanded energy and passion from the players<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time I remarked how the energy Arteta required was making great demands on the players especially Mesut Ozil who was the creative focus of the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first half against Leeds on Monday was very telling. Once you left out three key players it took a toll on the quality of football. The lack of energy in the first half was quite worrying. Despite your pre-game instructions demanding the players take the Yorkshire team seriously, they all seemed leggy. Ozil, in particular, looked gassed and you had to sub him by the 75th minute marker. As in every game where Ozil was replaced , the quality of our midfield play deteriorated once he went to the bench.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Ozil remains in quarantine<\/strong><\/p>\n

Little did we know that the corona virus would bring an abrupt suspension to the season. But even more shocking, when the season resumed, Mesut Ozil was seemingly no longer in the manager\u2019s thinking.<\/p>\n

Now rumors have been swirling that Ozil displeased the executives of the club and Arteta in particular because he was the only player who refused to take a paycut during the suspension. Apparently the players were convinced to make these cuts as their contribution to prevent staff layoffs from the club during the pandemic interruption of football. \u00a0Seemingly Ozil was unconvinced and has been proven right when the club went ahead anyway with sacking of 55 employees in early July including long-serving scouts.<\/p>\n

In my opinion not playing Ozil post-corona is one of the primary contributors to us not making the top-6 and I dare say the top-4, which at one point was in striking distance. This is not an idle opinion. It is based on facts and data as presented below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Arteta With and Without Ozil\u00a0 – Premier League<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OZIL<\/strong><\/td>\nP<\/strong><\/td>\nW<\/strong><\/td>\nD<\/strong><\/td>\nL<\/strong><\/td>\nF<\/strong><\/td>\nA<\/strong><\/td>\nGD<\/strong><\/td>\nPoints<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
In<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n16<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Out<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n17<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The data set may be small but they clearly indicate that with Ozil we are a better all round team:<\/p>\n