Oezillating from bad to worse?
Getting him to play to his potential is. Arsene Wenger, in a robust defense of the beleaguered Mesut Oezil, said he should not be “scapegoated” for Arsenal’s underwhelming performances. His rationalization, losing just the one match since April 1st. He then launched a familiar broadside against armchair tacticians with an appeal to fans to stick it out.
“You have to be united and sometimes go through periods together where it goes a bit less well.”
It’s all a bit tiring and self fulfilling because Wenger’s seeming lack of “tactics” which has led to a cottage industry of “tacticians.” The main question what does Wenger do to get the best out of Oezil? Defending him and questioning fans support is the easy part. In fact, as Arsenal supporters, you can virtually count yourselves as the only ones who question Wenger as the board does its utmost to roll over. Pressure from us is why the side responds and transfers get done. This is not an idle boast as enraged fans vented after the Aston Villa bollocking last season, sparked the side to its best run. So keep the pressure on because its forced Wenger to think about Oezil even as he complains fans should be unconcerned.
Why does Wenger insist on playing him on the flanks? Because he seems to be wasted out there. Having Wilshere, Ramsey, Sanchez, and Oezil in a 4-1-4-1 creates attacking redundancy and spatial congestion. There are so many times Arsenal instead of widening the space, cram themselves within a few claustrophobic feet of each other. Consequently, losing the ball or getting tackled which robs Welbeck of his outlets and from his displays, Welbeck requires plenty of those. So there could be two players benefiting from such a switch. Chelsea is further ahead because they found a palpable spine in Matic- Fabregas- Costa who’ve bedded in admirably. Mourinho can employ any formation through a constellation of clever midfielders freed up to change vantage around that Procrustean configuration. That cost benefit analysis seems to be working well – scoring boatload of goals while giving up a few cheap ones. We’ve yet to define our midfield.
The other congealing idea is Arsenal’s midfielders maybe clever ball carriers but they don’t protect very well. If they were, having a holding midfielder wouldn’t be such an issue. As it is they have to rely on Mikel Arteta as the sole protector in front of the back four after losing the ball. Unless the counterattack’s smoked kind bud, you’ll have that as a losing proposition every time. Dortmund on Tuesday tore bleeding chunks out of Arsenal’s midriff because Arteta was so dire.
One can have Oezil pushed into the centre of the attack but have the insurance of two holding midfielders. Flamini as his minder and Arteta deeper back as a disruptive influence. That is not new as in 2007-08, a similar arrangement was worked out whether by design or on the fly with Fabregas supported by Flamini shadowing him. That way, losing the ball, a given with Oezil, minimizes disastrous consequences and recycles more opportunities to work his magic. Having success with a little leg up could help his confidence which is at a very visible low ebb. Flamini’s presence sacrifices Wilshere to the bench. Rotate Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey for the starts in a pared down midfield.
Maybe its also time to ease Isaac Hayden into the senior squad. Yes, this carries plenty of risk, Hayden is young and thrust into holding midfield on emergency is not the best learning curve but he has all the attributes to be good one. If that experiment develops as planned, Wenger can think about stacking the midfield again.
The other option is to bite the bullet and keep Oezil on the bench for the bigger games or for some measured cameos. Hopefully, a period of abstention will be enough for him to become arsed. There is an existential “Why am I here?” and “Why are people so angry?” woebegone querulousness clinging to Oezil like limpets. Msr Wenger has to play shrink and help him find those answers. Once he get his psychological groove back on it could help him tremendously on the pitch. And its not just Oezil to tend to, its also Welbeck who has to start firing. We have Andrey Arshavin as the prime example of incandescent talent starting like a house on fire (that Liverpool game still gives tingles of delight), losing his mojo, and then unraveling even as Wenger kept defending him right to the bitter end. Didn’t help Arshavin and certainly didn’t help Arsenal.