One Arsenal legend has called for Ozil’s return after last week’s Tottenham defeat.
Mikel Arteta has been told to apologise to Mesut Ozil after freezing him out and to quickly get him back into Arsenal’s team to save the remainder of their ailing Premier League season as Arteta’s side have suffered from a lack of creativity since the season began.
Mikel Arteta’s side have lacked creativity from midfield in Mesut Ozil’s absence and the solution is already at the manager’s fingertips, according to Arsenal legend Paul Merson.
“Arsenal could still be playing Tottenham now and they wouldn’t have scored a goal,” said Merson in his Daily Star column.
“What can they do in January to fix it? Go and knock on Mesut Ozil’s door, say you’re sorry and you need him to play!
“Arsenal were atrocious against Spurs. They never looked like scoring. Ozil’s getting £350,000-a-week and sitting at home while his team can’t score.”
Ozil has been criticized over his perceived lack of work rate, and Merson admits that although the midfielder is not always ideal for games when Arsenal need to work harder, the two-time title winner insisted the German would be perfect for unlocking defences in games in which they will have a lot of the ball.
“I’m not saying play him against Manchester City or Liverpool, when you’re not going to see much of the ball,” said Merson.
“But against teams like Spurs or Burnley, he can get on the ball and dictate things and make a few decent chances.”
Ozil has not played for the Gunners since March, and the 32-year-old was left out of Arteta’s Premier League and Europa League squads for the first half of the season.
But he could be brought back into the fold next month – and Merson said it needs to happen if Arsenal are to climb up from their present miserable position of 15th in the table.
“They could re-register him in January. They’re missing a trick if they don’t,” said the ex-England midfielder.
“I just don’t know where Arsenal are going right now. The manager was talking after the Spurs game as if they’d played well. I hope he doesn’t actually believe that!”
Credit: Football Tribe Malaysia
