Although it appears that he has no future at Arsenal, there is a still a way for Mikel Arteta to get the best out of Mesut Ozil.
For reasons that are still not clear, the Spaniard has completely shut out the enigmatic midfielder, to the point where he hasn’t even made the squad on several occasions.
Former manager, Arsene Wenger, believes that if Arteta is willing to bend a little concerning Ozil, then harmony could return between the pair.
Ultimately, that would be to Arteta’s benefit too of course.
“He [Ozil] wasn’t exactly the one with the greatest discipline on the pitch,” Wenger said to Der Speigel and cited by The Sun.
“And playing the game without the ball wasn’t exactly his forte.
“But you can deal with that if you put some more defensively minded players by his side. The main thing is to get the balance between attack and defence right.
“Players have lost their technical quality over the past ten years. Athleticism has become more important than technique and decision making.
“It’s more about physical characteristics and intensity, about explosiveness. And it’s also about being a showman.”
Still commanding the biggest salary in the squad, for essentially doing nothing at present, Arsenal would do well to re-integrate Ozil back into the fold, if nothing else other than to put him in the shop window.
It’s entirely possible that his contract will be cancelled at the end of the year of course, requiring Arsenal to pay up the remaining months.
If the club are willing to do that to appease Arteta, then the issues run deeper than a lot of people, Wenger included, realise.
