Mesut Özil

[The Skipper 20,593]

Should be looked at as an option imo. 

[Amblève. 4,995]

God no.

[Jase 43,479]

3 hours ago, The Skipper said:

Should be looked at as an option imo. 

You're drunk, Tom. GTFO!

[Rapkun 668]

United is his likeliest destination. He has been linked with them for a while, and now Jose is their manager.  He said himself he thinks he's the best coach he ever had.

As for him coming here. The only player who does not work a lot off the ball is Hazard so unless he's replacing him or Conte is no longer the coach the club will not consider him.

[Polo7 3,496]

Offers as much as Fabregas, less the long passing. Would be a waste.

[Pizy 18,409]

Honestly, we need more creative and flair players in our attack. We've got only 2 players in our attack that can reliably be counted on to produce and those are Hazard and Morata. Willian and Pedro can look great one game and then go missing for long stretches. We need another attacking talent that's on Hazards level. 

Özil has shown what he can do in an actual top team where he was utterly brilliant. Unlike at Arse he'd have proper structure and teammates around him that would allow him to flourish. He seems to really love London as well so there'd be zero adjustment period.

Would be ridiculous to see Sanchez go to City and Özil to United. Two clubs that have so far already looked miles ahead of us going forward and who both have many more options than we do. Look at our attacking options compared to any of the other big boys and Europe and we're not even close to their level.

[The Skipper 20,593]

3 hours ago, Polo7 said:

Offers as much as Fabregas, less the long passing. Would be a waste.

He’s actually a lot more useful in the final third of the pitch than Fabregas. Imagine a Fabregas that was comfortable and actually great playing as an AM/10/RF. That’s Özil. 

I actually think Conte’s 343 and 352 suit him to a tee. Hazard Morata Özil is an excellent front three in any permutation (xx-x or x-x-x). Would be a good Fabregas replacement. Even if we wanted to, both could play together. Imagine Morata Hazard Özil Fabregas Kante Bakayoko in a 433 for example. That’s a very nice, creative and dynamic team imo. 

[Georgy 439]

He is lazy as fuck. Avoid at all costs.

[quickpassnmove 924]

someone wants to poison our squad with this guy??

Fuck NO.

[the wes 7,212]

14 hours ago, The Skipper said:

Should be looked at as an option imo. 

I rather go for Sanchez 😃😃

[Jase 43,479]

11 hours ago, Pizy said:

Honestly, we need more creative and flair players in our attack. We've got only 2 players in our attack that can reliably be counted on to produce and those are Hazard and Morata. Willian and Pedro can look great one game and then go missing for long stretches. We need another attacking talent that's on Hazards level. 

Özil has shown what he can do in an actual top team where he was utterly brilliant. Unlike at Arse he'd have proper structure and teammates around him that would allow him to flourish. He seems to really love London as well so there'd be zero adjustment period.

 

8 hours ago, The Skipper said:

He’s actually a lot more useful in the final third of the pitch than Fabregas. Imagine a Fabregas that was comfortable and actually great playing as an AM/10/RF. That’s Özil. 

I actually think Conte’s 343 and 352 suit him to a tee. Hazard Morata Özil is an excellent front three in any permutation (xx-x or x-x-x). Would be a good Fabregas replacement. Even if we wanted to, both could play together. Imagine Morata Hazard Özil Fabregas Kante Bakayoko in a 433 for example. That’s a very nice, creative and dynamic team imo. 

It's odd to see people wanting Ozil when we've spent the best part of the last 3 years bemoaning about Fabregas' defensive flaws - the same flaws that Ozil has in him. I get that Ozil has his strengths and it's all good saying he'll work in well structured team etc but are we really going to pretend that his flaws aren't a big issue? Is it really worth having a player, whose strengths match the weaknesses rather than the former outweigh the latter? If we're going to buy a player purely because of his strengths and ignore the flaws, then we might as well go after someone like Balotelli while we're at it.

11 hours ago, Pizy said:

Would be ridiculous to see Sanchez go to City and Özil to United. Two clubs that have so far already looked miles ahead of us going forward and who both have many more options than we do. Look at our attacking options compared to any of the other big boys and Europe and we're not even close to their level.

So you're basically suggesting we should buy Ozil just so we can compete with the other big sides while ignoring major weaknesses? That's not exactly smart transfer business, is it? It says a lot that Ozil has hardly been linked with any major European sides while Sanchez is the one getting all the interest.

[Pizy 18,409]

6 hours ago, Jason said:

 

It's odd to see people wanting Ozil when we've spent the best part of the last 3 years bemoaning about Fabregas' defensive flaws - the same flaws that Ozil has in him. I get that Ozil has his strengths and it's all good saying he'll work in well structured team etc but are we really going to pretend that his flaws aren't a big issue? Is it really worth having a player, whose strengths match the weaknesses rather than the former outweigh the latter? If we're going to buy a player purely because of his strengths and ignore the flaws, then we might as well go after someone like Balotelli while we're at it.

So you're basically suggesting we should buy Ozil just so we can compete with the other big sides while ignoring major weaknesses? That's not exactly smart transfer business, is it? It says a lot that Ozil has hardly been linked with any major European sides while Sanchez is the one getting all the interest.

Think the main reason Özil wasn't being linked away to other big clubs like Sanchez has been is because everyone assumed that if Sanchez left Arsenal would do all they possibly could to keep Özil. That was what the Arsenal slappy' like John Cross had been saying all along. He'd be their talisman. Now, with Wenger himself even saying Özil could possibly leave as well I'm sure many big teams will be after him.

It is true that he's got weaknesses but as I said, I think he'd be great in front of Kante and Baka. At Arsenal he's had essentially a different midfield every week and a manager who is hopelessly inept tactically. His weaknesses have been magnified by having the likes of Xhaka, Elneny, Coquelin, etc behind him. 

Think Hazard and Özil would form an instant connection and tear teams to shreds. 

[The Skipper 20,593]

6 hours ago, Jason said:

 

It's odd to see people wanting Ozil when we've spent the best part of the last 3 years bemoaning about Fabregas' defensive flaws - the same flaws that Ozil has in him. I get that Ozil has his strengths and it's all good saying he'll work in well structured team etc but are we really going to pretend that his flaws aren't a big issue? Is it really worth having a player, whose strengths match the weaknesses rather than the former outweigh the latter? If we're going to buy a player purely because of his strengths and ignore the flaws, then we might as well go after someone like Balotelli while we're at it.

So you're basically suggesting we should buy Ozil just so we can compete with the other big sides while ignoring major weaknesses? That's not exactly smart transfer business, is it? It says a lot that Ozil has hardly been linked with any major European sides while Sanchez is the one getting all the interest.

Özil can actually operate further up the pitch a lot more comfortably and effectively than Cesc. Cesc can’t play 10 properly. 

I’m not advocating that we sign him to play in the midfield two like Cesc does, this, his defensive capabilities isn’t that important. 

[!Hazard! 3,394]

We need a player like Modric or Verratti, not this clown who always goes quiet when it matters the most.

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, Pizy said:

Think the main reason Özil wasn't being linked away to other big clubs like Sanchez has been is because everyone assumed that if Sanchez left Arsenal would do all they possibly could to keep Özil. That was what the Arsenal slappy' like John Cross had been saying all along. He'd be their talisman. Now, with Wenger himself even saying Özil could possibly leave as well I'm sure many big teams will be after him.

Ozil has given no indication whatsoever over the last year or so that he's willing to commit long term to Arsenal. If he's really rated by the top European clubs, we would have seen a few of them lining up to try and sign him like they are with Sanchez. Maybe he will sign a new contract in the coming months but the fact that no one has been queuing to sign him speaks volume.

1 hour ago, Pizy said:

It is true that he's got weaknesses but as I said, I think he'd be great in front of Kante and Baka. At Arsenal he's had essentially a different midfield every week and a manager who is hopelessly inept tactically. His weaknesses have been magnified by having the likes of Xhaka, Elneny, Coquelin, etc behind him. 

We said that about Fabregas and how has that been going?

1 hour ago, Pizy said:

Think Hazard and Özil would form an instant connection and tear teams to shreds. 

Looks great on paper but would it really work out that way on the pitch? We have dreamed of so many partnerships over the years, thinking when Player X combines with Player Y, they will rip the opponents to shreds but how often has that happened? How many passengers, defensively, can we afford to carry in the XI?

1 hour ago, The Skipper said:

Özil can actually operate further up the pitch a lot more comfortably and effectively than Cesc. Cesc can’t play 10 properly. 

I’m not advocating that we sign him to play in the midfield two like Cesc does, this, his defensive capabilities isn’t that important. 

No.10 or not, the point still stands. He will still have defensive responsibilities in the front 3 of Conte's 3-4-3 or 3-5-2. Do you think someone like Conte would really tolerate someone strolling around the pitch? He may not have to track back into deep areas but he will still need to press and put pressure on opponents. His time Arsenal - or indeed at previous clubs - suggests he's incapable of doing that. And what happens when our next manager decides to play a back 4 system? He will have even more defensive responsibility playing as the wide player or as the No.10.

Here's another thing - if there are already question marks over his defensive capabilities in a team that likes playing on the front foot, how do you think then he would fare in a team that's pragmatic, a team that tends to play defensive and on the break in the big games? Can you see him tracking back and defend when we play the likes of Spurs, Man City etc? It will just be another Fabregas situation all over again.

[The Skipper 20,593]

4 hours ago, Jason said:

Ozil has given no indication whatsoever over the last year or so that he's willing to commit long term to Arsenal. If he's really rated by the top European clubs, we would have seen a few of them lining up to try and sign him like they are with Sanchez. Maybe he will sign a new contract in the coming months but the fact that no one has been queuing to sign him speaks volume.

We said that about Fabregas and how has that been going?

Looks great on paper but would it really work out that way on the pitch? We have dreamed of so many partnerships over the years, thinking when Player X combines with Player Y, they will rip the opponents to shreds but how often has that happened? How many passengers, defensively, can we afford to carry in the XI?

No.10 or not, the point still stands. He will still have defensive responsibilities in the front 3 of Conte's 3-4-3 or 3-5-2. Do you think someone like Conte would really tolerate someone strolling around the pitch? He may not have to track back into deep areas but he will still need to press and put pressure on opponents. His time Arsenal - or indeed at previous clubs - suggests he's incapable of doing that. And what happens when our next manager decides to play a back 4 system? He will have even more defensive responsibility playing as the wide player or as the No.10.

Here's another thing - if there are already question marks over his defensive capabilities in a team that likes playing on the front foot, how do you think then he would fare in a team that's pragmatic, a team that tends to play defensive and on the break in the big games? Can you see him tracking back and defend when we play the likes of Spurs, Man City etc? It will just be another Fabregas situation all over again.

Why are you pretending like he’s never played in a more effective system defensively than what’s currently going on at Arsenal with him. He looks much better playing for Germany where he isn’t that much of a liability defensively. Or under Jose at Real - how did he cope there? Have we forgotten how effective Özil was in one of the best counter attacking teams in recent times? Why can’t that translate into Conte’s system? Why can we only have two or three legit technicians in our team at a time? 

We’ll never evolve as a team with this attitude. Özil would’ve been much more effective against City imo - as I mentioned he’s far more comfortable in the final third than Fabregas - never mind that Cesc has a personal disaster class. You need to understand that although they have some similarities, they play in different areas of the pitch. Why does he have to track back so astutely when we’d play Bakayoko and Kanté in the team? Let’s not pretend that playing Fabregas was the main reason we got dominated against City, it goes much deeper than that. 

Mesut isn’t the hardest working player but you’re completely overstating how poor he is defensively when he’s shown numerous times in his career that he can work in a less adventurous system (Germany, Real). What exactly do the two 10s in Conte’s system do that Özil can’t defensively? 

[Jase 43,479]

4 hours ago, The Skipper said:

Why are you pretending like he’s never played in a more effective system defensively than what’s currently going on at Arsenal with him. He looks much better playing for Germany where he isn’t that much of a liability defensively. Or under Jose at Real - how did he cope there? Have we forgotten how effective Özil was in one of the best counter attacking teams in recent times? Why can’t that translate into Conte’s system? Why can we only have two or three legit technicians in our team at a time?

Who said anything about having only 2-3 technicians in the team at a time? It's a question of finding the right player - both offensively and defensively - to fit into the squad. Otherwise, we'll end up having the same Fabregas conversation down the road again.

4 hours ago, The Skipper said:

We’ll never evolve as a team with this attitude. Özil would’ve been much more effective against City imo - as I mentioned he’s far more comfortable in the final third than Fabregas - never mind that Cesc has a personal disaster class. You need to understand that although they have some similarities, they play in different areas of the pitch. Why does he have to track back so astutely when we’d play Bakayoko and Kanté in the team? Let’s not pretend that playing Fabregas was the main reason we got dominated against City, it goes much deeper than that. 

Yes, Fabregas and Ozil play in different areas and are slightly different players but their strengths and weaknesses are near identical. You mentioned Fabregas has a potential disaster class, like Ozil doesn't have that in him? How many times have we seen him go AWOL at Arsenal when they really need someone to step up for them? He only plays well when everything is progressing smoothly. Otherwise, he's nowhere to be seen and becomes a passenger on the pitch.

4 hours ago, The Skipper said:

Mesut isn’t the hardest working player but you’re completely overstating how poor he is defensively when he’s shown numerous times in his career that he can work in a less adventurous system (Germany, Real). What exactly do the two 10s in Conte’s system do that Özil can’t defensively? 

Overstating? How so when his lack of defensive work is clear for all to see week in week out? Showing he can do that NUMEROUS times doesn't mean he's competent in that aspect.

[OneMoSalah 8,783]

He’s never hit the heights he did at Real for Arsenal or Germany since his move there, he’s still a good player but think he’s regressed. Not sure he’d even start to be fair if we persevere with 352 with Morata and Hazard, although he’d make a good alternative and if we got him playing like he did at Real we’d have a top class player on our hands. Think playing at Real as a creative player must of been a dream for him though, his stats alone from there for chances and assists were so impressive but he was playing with a 40+ goal a season winger in Ronaldo, 15-20+ goal strikers in Higuan and Benzema too in a team than spanked everybody bar Barcelona most weeks.