Sometimes in football, pundits trot out the same old nonsense week-in and week-out and it some how gets accepted on a grand scale, regardless of how true it might be. It becomes gospel purely on the basis of reputation
Arsenal fans are used to this kind of behaviour. How often are they told that their team are ‘too easily bullied’, or that they like to ‘try and walk the ball into the net’? How often do we hear that Theo Walcott lacks a footballing brain.
And how often have we, in recent times, heard that Mesut Ozil has been a flop since moving to Arsenal? It’s this last claim that I’d like to attack. Watching him in action against Queens Park Rangers recently and considering his statistical excellence, I can’t help but be bemused by his poor reputation.
The ire directed at him must be due to his huge price-tag. He moved to The Emirates two seasons ago as part of a £42.4m deal with Real Madrid. He’s still The Gunners record signing, so there’s a fair amount of pressure on his shoulders.
And yet he has delivered, on some level. In 55 starts, he’s accrued 11 goals and 21 assists. This means that he’s effecting the game in a meaningful way once every two matches. That’s not too shabby at all. Why not contrast this return with Manchester United’s expensive and ineffective midfielders?
Pundits also say that Mesut Ozil looks disinterested. They claim that he lacks passion. But do these armchair warriors read his interviews, or check his Twitter feed? Did they notice that Mesut Ozil worked extremely hard over his injury lay-off to ensure he came back physically stronger and more capable of dealing with the rigours of the Premier League?
Those are not the actions of a disinterested player. What’s more the claims that he’s lazy are untrue. He’s often in the top two-or-three Arsenal players when it comes to miles covered on a game-by-game basis
Given Ozil’s age and the fact that he’s clearly still adapting to the pace and physicality of the Premier League, it’s obvious that there’s more to come from the German. Still, there’s no call for criticism just yet. Perhaps it’s time to get off his back and to start giving credit where it’s due.
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