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Paul Merson believes that the inclusion of Thomas Partey in Arsenal’s midfield should allow Mesut Ozil to be reintroduced into the team.
Ozil was left out of Mikel Arteta’s squad for the Premier League and Europa League group stages this season, and has not played a minute for the club since March.
The 32-year-old, whose contract expires in the summer, can only re-enroll in Arsenal’s Premier League and Europa League knockout teams after the January transfer window, but Merson says the skill set of the German is perfect for Gunners as long as Partey is playing.
Here, Merson also insists that Arteta is hampered by not knowing his best XI, and was saddened by how quickly Tottenham have outpaced their former team on expenses and performances.
Arsenal cries out for creativity: Ozil has it
For me, Mesut Ozil returns to the team if Thomas Partey is fit. Partey moves across the field, dominates the midfield and dictates the game. Playing opens an opportunity for Ozil.
At the moment, Arsenal have no one to provide forwards. You can run all day, but if you are a center forward, your runs are only as good as the players behind you.
When these Arsenal players are receiving the ball in midfield, over time, is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang getting the run? Are you sure they are going to see your race and are able to get that ball through the eye of a needle? I would say no, so they need creativity. Fernando Torres made runs when Steven Gerrard received the ball. They didn’t even have to look.
The teams are sitting against Arsenal and they don’t have the creativity in midfield to take them down.
If Partey doesn’t play, Ozil can’t play. Without Partey, Arsenal are not going to dictate the midfield and then cannot afford to play with 10 men. But if Arsenal have the midfield, and Ozil is playing behind Aubameyang, with two flying wingers. He asks the four in the back to stay still, including the sides.
You would play Granit Xhaka next to Partey, then Ozil in front, then Aubameyang center, Bukayo Saka to the left, and you would try to get a tune out of Nicolas Pepe. Take the ball to Ozil and before you know it, if you run, he will find you.
Is Arteta the culprit for Ozil’s exclusion? I don’t know if it’s Arteta or the club. I’m not sure. Arteta has been in the game long enough to know when a player is or is not a good player.
You never, never know when you are going to need a player. The name of the game for so many top managers is keeping players who are not on the team happy. Because they know that one day they might need that player.
If you treat them badly and suddenly you have some injuries and need them to play, that’s bad news. If you treat them right, they will go through a brick wall for you. You will need them.
Arteta does not know her best team
They just make change after change. Arteta’s job is safe, Arsenal have a plan. There is a project there. Arteta has done some good things.
So I can pick a team, with their coaches, and say, ‘Okay, this is my best team.’ Play for five games; if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. There are two, three, four changes every week.
The players know each other. Look at Leeds, the team plays every week together and everyone knows what they are doing. A ball is thrown around the corner, without looking, and there is someone. Everyone knows what they do because it is the same team every week.
It’s impossible for these players to come in and try to start that fast.
Willian and Aubameyang … what happened?
I don’t know what happened to Willian. He was unplayable for Chelsea at times last season, and then Arsenal signed him and you think, ‘What a signing is this. With a free transfer! I don’t remember having a good game yet. I’m a big fan of yours. It just doesn’t go away.
And at this moment Aubameyang is not playing. You can’t play a soccer game and touch the ball six times in the middle. You have to go get the ball, get involved, whatever happens.
Spurs miles ahead and the fear factor is gone
The saddest thing for me is how far and how quickly Arsenal have fallen behind Tottenham. Tottenham has just built one of the best stadiums in the world. I thought they were going to sell left, right and center players. A bit like Arsenal after building the Emirates. Every year there was a star player.
Tottenham spend more money than Arsenal! Tottenham have a team there and they are in that group where they can win the league. You look at Arsenal, and they are in the group with Leicester, Southampton, Everton, West Ham, some others.
People used to say ‘Arsenal’ … ‘How did Arsenal do today?’ ‘Who do Arsenal have today?’
That is gone. They only say Arsenal now. It was a top club. Some of the teams they’ve had over the years have been phenomenal.
I think it sums up the situation at Arsenal that Wolves can experience in that game and play with a lot of attacking players. That fear no longer exists with Arsenal. I know the Wolves played a back four last week, but let’s get one thing straight: Conor Coady wasn’t available in that game. This was wolves experimenting.
Pitch to Post Weekend Review Podcast
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Having been left out in the cold, how exactly did José Mourinho transform Tanguy Ndombele into one of Tottenham’s most key players?
Ben Ransom and Gerard Brand join Jasper Taylor on the latest Pitch to Post Review show to discuss just that (07:55), as well as Eric Dier’s form while ditching the ‘versatility’ label. The Spurs are the best, but what if the opponents overtake José José? (13:48)
We also discussed Man Utd’s dramatic 3-2 win over Southampton thanks to super substitute Edinson Cavani (22:16), and asked: where would Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team be if they played the entire season away from home? Answer: probably better.
In the Regional Review, Alan Myers joins us on all things Everton in their two-halves season so far (36:04), and at the Treatment Table we gather the latest injury news and join Jurgen Klopp to get stuck in the sub five debate (47:18).
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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