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Why This Technically-gifted Player Is Not A Luxury To Arsenal And Wenger Should Build A Team Around Him

Mesut Assist! – Arsene Wenger Should Try And Build The Arsenal Team Around The Charismatic Ozil

Much has been said about Mesut Ozil and his apparent ineffectiveness at Arsenal over the last four years. Often labelled as ‘invisible’ on the field, the German’s impact continues to be questioned. Some believe that he adds no value and that he should leave the club, while others argue that it is Arsenal’s system that is not suiting him.

From what we have seen so far, it has certainly been established that it is a case of Arsenal’s system not working out for Ozil. If that is the case, where should both parties go from here?

As far as Ozil is concerned, he can easily find a better club and exit the Gunners. For Arsenal though, the alternative may not prove to be all that easy. The pressure is increasing on Wenger day-by-day, to produce results and so far, they have only been inconsistent in doing so.

After two consecutive clean sheets against Chelsea and West Brom, links have been made between Ozil’s absence from the side and the Gunners’ defensive balance. The Gunners did manage to keep their opponents at bay in both games, but the decision-making and over-all efficiency in the final third suffered during the German World Cup winner’s absence.

The 29-year-old is often the scapegoat when Arsenal succumb to a heavy defeat. Regardless of whether or not he was at blame, headlines and tweets scream out Ozil’s name for all of Arsenal’s troubles. What needs to be made clear is that Ozil is not a player who helps in maintaining defensive balance.

Having said that, Ozil needs to work hard for the team, and his running stats will prove he does cover plenty of ground. But Arsenal didn’t sign Ozil to make tackles, track back and block shots – they bought him to assist and score goals. In fact, the German has the level of quality that you build an entire side around.

He may not dominate games but he has the potential to make all the attacking players tick. Ozil has the ability to make the players around him play more effectively through his accuracy of decision making and execution – a skill more valuable than any individual brilliance, especially for a side like Arsenal.

Thus, it all comes down to Wenger to build a balanced side around the playmaker which allows him and the team to flourish. The challenge now for Arsenal is to combine the creative flair and attractive football that they are so famous for, with the defensive steel they have been showing in their last couple of games.

However, to do all this, they will always need a technically-gifted player like Mesut Ozil in their ranks.

If there’s one thing that Arsene Wenger must do, it would be to convince the world-class German to stay at the Emirates.