Mesut coming out of his shell?: Page 44 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Mesut coming out of his shell?

Klaus

Still can't believe Cazorla got MOTM after that performance from Özil. I mean, Santi had a very good game, but come on.

y va marquer

Özil got the fans nod for MOTM, probably means more than the official award.

Gunner89

You can see he didn't do that bad last season but the lack of pace hurt his game here-

Klaus

He's definitely improved this season, but I think people overrate how much. He played a lot like this last year too, but he didn't have the stamina to run throughout a full game, nor the physique to stand up in challenges, which made him less appealing to look at. But the flicks and passes and little backheels were still there. Still the same insane ability to dribble and spot openings (look at the Bayern game, for reference; people remember how he missed that penalty but not how he won it out of nothing with an outrageous skill). He created 130 chances or so despite missing a few months of the season.

Ray

The improvement has been physically, there are times where he is winning tackles now.

goon

The physical aspect may have skewed opinion a little, but I don't think that's true (on the flicks, passes etc still being there), not to the same extent. I think the sublime has become a lot more frequent and exponentially so since his return in January. Personally think there was a confidence issue there as well last year, probably as a result of the difficulty he had as a result of the physical deficiency.

Patters

Making a bigger impact on some big games too. That always sticks in the mind a lot more than creating 70 chances against Middlesbrough. That he's stronger has been crucial. Still some improvement to come though. Would like to see him be more ambitious in terms of taking players on. When he potentially gets into goalscoring positions his first instinct is still always to pass. In the second half yesterday, Ramsey played a great ball into Ozil who had the pace to take the ball on and hit it with his left. Chose to cut inside and pass. He doesn't 'need' to add goals but think it's more than a mental issue than a lack of ability.

Must admit though that he seems happier in his role at no.10. When Wenger was playing him out wide I didn't think it was a big issue because he was still playing well and we were winning. But he really lifts the team performance more when he gets a free role.

Klaus

Patters wrote:
He doesn't 'need' to add goals but think it's more than a mental issue than a lack of ability.

I think it's a mental issue too (but I do think he needs to add more goals to his game). There were some small signs this season that they're working on his goalscoring. It's his only real flaw at the moment. And I'm not talking about being able to finish like Ramsey; it's just that someone who gets into so many good positions in and around the box should be racking up 12-15 goals per season instead of 6-7. He misses a lot of simple opportunities because he's not confident enough. Goals like the volley against Tottenham hint about improvement though.

Gunner89

I think Ozil not scoring that many is a consequence of being managed by Mourinho. Look at Cesc too. He's got a high assists tally but his goals are down because he's being asked to be very specific with his role in the team. If Cesc went to a Mourinho side at 20-21 before he started scoring regularly and was constrained to very specific responsibilities he would have likely turned out similar.

goon

Playing alongside someone like Ronaldo can't help either.

JazzG

Klaus wrote:
Still can't believe Cazorla got MOTM after that performance from Özil. I mean, Santi had a very good game, but come on.

Danny Murphy was going on in the first half about how he expected more from Ozil, they have an agenda against him in the English press. Going to be hard to shake off.

Klaus wrote:
He's definitely improved this season, but I think people overrate how much. He played a lot like this last year too, but he didn't have the stamina to run throughout a full game, nor the physique to stand up in challenges, which made him less appealing to look at. But the flicks and passes and little backheels were still there. Still the same insane ability to dribble and spot openings (look at the Bayern game, for reference; people remember how he missed that penalty but not how he won it out of nothing with an outrageous skill). He created 130 chances or so despite missing a few months of the season.

I think having more movement and pace around him has made a big difference because now a lot of these passes are on. Last season we played much of the season with Giroud + Cazorla in our front three and our game. That also meant teams sat higher up the pitch which then meant players like Ozil were further away from the opposition's goal.

I think we need another elite CM in there though, that way Ozil could stay higher up the pitch because now sometimes he still has to drop a bit deep for my liking.

Rayman wrote:
The improvement has been physically, there are times where he is winning tackles now.

I think that has helped, I think he looks stronger but also a lot more fitter now. Finishing games stronger and like you say much harder to shrug him off the ball. He has mentioned he is still working hard so lets hope he can get into peak condition for next season

Mirth

JazzG wrote:
Klaus wrote:
Still can't believe Cazorla got MOTM after that performance from Özil. I mean, Santi had a very good game, but come on.

Danny Murphy was going on in the first half about how he expected more from Ozil, they have an agenda against him in the English press. Going to be hard to shake off.

Well I expected more from Danny Murphy's career so we're both disappointed.

Klaus

😆

Lukazan

[size=medium]The difference is night and day which is why a number of fans on here that were down on Ozil last season have completely changed their mind. [/size]

The tricks and flicks may have been there but they were sprinkled amongst being outmuscled on the ball far too easily, really big lapses in concentration that lead to slack, lazy passing or running into dead-ends and falling over and completely backing out of situations I wouldn't even call 50-50s (Ozil was favourite) which in fairness, he's still guilty of sometimes but it occurs a lot less which is basically my point. Everything in his game is far more consistent now. He had sublime moments last season but they were just that - moments. He's doing the ridiculous on a game to game basis, all throughout. Yesterday he was basically just taking the piss.

And as Otf says, he looks far more confident.

goon

I remember Steve Mcmanaman criticising him, claiming Arsenal fans are growing frustrated with his sub-par performances.. this was a few days after he'd won our player of the month award, as voted for by the fans 😆

The winner by a country mile has to be Owen. As if claiming Sterling is definitely better than Ozil wasn't bad enough, he went on to say that Sterling was only probably better than Welbeck, therefore insinuating that Welbeck is better than Ozil. This man gets paid for his opinions on football.

Mirth

I can't work out how anyone could expect more from Ozil (aside from maybe a goal) in the first half, literally every pass he made ended up opening up their defence.

I agree with Luka as well, he certainly wasn't playing this well last season - the talent and technique was the same but he was in and out of games and probably lacking in confidence, he seems like a fairly reserved sort and needs some patience. Which he has got and has been able to take a step up.

lorddulaarsenal

He's the coolest guy in our squad

flobaba

Definitely a vast improvement in his game compared to last season. Anyone who says otherwise (Klaus) is only being a fanboy.

He lost the ball too easily, misplaced more passes than he should've with his quality, was second to every single physical battle, tracked back without conviction, and sulked like a baby whenever things didn't go his way. Add to that, he often came up short in the big games. We only saw his brilliance in fleeting flashes.

I'd attribute a small percentage of his issues to getting acclimated to the team and league. The other, larger issue was he often exhibited a piss poor attitude and Struggled physically.

He's definitely playing with more confidence and strength nowadays.

lorddulaarsenal

I think he's realised what a good thing we have going on here too.

Must be a blow a club like Madrid deciding to sell you

JazzG

Going from C.Ronaldo, Benzema, Higuain, Di Maria, Modric, Alonso was probably a bit of blow. Nothing wrong with our players mind you but clearly not on the level of players he had with him at R.Madrid.

While people like to knock him last season I do believe he played a part in Ramsey's great form up to his injury.

Ozil talked recently about how he is still working hard in the gym, wonder how much more muscle he is looking to add.

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