So Is Mesut Ozil Worth The £42.4 Million We Paid?

A lot has been made about the performances of Mesut Ozil over the last few weeks. Some people have said they he looks lazy, and plays like he can’t be bothered. Then there are some who say that’s just the way he plays football, and others that he is still finding his feet in England.

In terms of an impact, you cannot deny that his arrival alone lifted the confidence of the club ten fold. His signing brought a massive amount of excitement that finally, Arsenal could become real contenders this season. And here we are almost in December, top of the Premier League after 12 games and narrowly top of the toughest Champions League group by far.

Last night on Twitter, I asked the simple question “was signing Ozil a mistake?”. Unsurprisingly, that sparked a host of aggressive responses but after his shockingly bad penalty last night, you would expect him to have his critics.

I won’t pretend to have watched a lot of Germany or Real Madrid over the last few years, so I can only comment on how I think he’s performed for Arsenal. While I do believe he hasn’t been at his best for us yet, I think it’s clear that with Ozil you either love him or hate him.

You either think he’s a misunderstood genius, who has single-handedly driven Arsenal to where they are now, or that he’s a lazy player who is a bit of a luxury. The truth is somewhere in between.

I find it hard for anyone to argue that he has been sensational for us so far. I would say he’s been “good”. Not amazing, not terrible, just good. He’s racked up plenty of important assists, linked up play well and added an extra dimension to our game. But by the same token, he has been guilty of disappearing in matches, and at times been shown to be off the pace. A confident and flying Ozil would have easily trapped Ramsey’s ball over the top last night, as well as scoring that chance against Manchester United. I just think he is still finding his feet both at Arsenal and in the Premier League.

People have said that his fitness was an issue and that’s why he was always substituted under Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, and it’s not the first time I’ve heard that some consider him a 60/70 minute player.

There is no doubt that Ozil is a world class player, but it down to him to show he’s a class above all the rest at the club. Players like Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere are the ones showing they’re our best players at the club at this moment in time.

 

31 thoughts on “So Is Mesut Ozil Worth The £42.4 Million We Paid?

  1. Bull shit and not all valid question.

    He is worth more than that now for Arsenal. Last couple of years Arsenal and Arsenal players have only one target and attitude to finish 4th place. Ozil signing gives a message to all we are targeting trophies now. That’s Y Arsenal is in this position now. If we win any trophy this year even if Ozil is playing very badly, he is worth more that 100M for Arsenal.

    He just started his career in Arsenal. Now itself people who wants super signing have started talking like all rubbish about him. What a shame ?????

     
  2. Clearly he is a world class player. Lazy, off the pace? A team is formed of different individuals who, as a collective , work well. We are on top of the EPL and the CL group. He’s been a catalist to our season and it is only his first. End of. But then again; there is no end to those who have always doubted Wenger’s policy. Although not perfect, Ozil is the real deal and it is proven by the stats. The man is a human being not a machine and undoubtedly he has not been to his best, but from that to suggest that is not money well spent…!

     
  3. just a pointless debate. You cannot judge a new player after only a couple of months in a completely different league – even if he’d been completely terrible in every single game for us so far there’d still be plenty to suggest that he would come good. He came to us with the reputation of being one of the finest players in the world in his position – the finest, according to Jose Mourinho. That doesn’t come easy. This isn’t a little-known French player we’ve bought, who could so easily be hit-or-miss. It’s Özil – a class act according to anyone who’s ever played with or against him.

    So far, he’s had his good moments, and his quieter moments. Don’t get me wrong, last night I thought he was utter rubbish – and I said that before he missed that penalty! But it doesn’t mean anything. Give him time to settle in, time to understand the league better, time to properly find his feet.

    He is a fantastic signing.

     
  4. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Ozil or anybody else. Now is to early to judge. basing a judgement on 10 games or even half a season is ridiculous. If you do that, then Thierry was rubbish. To judge somebody on a poor penalty is even more absurd. In any event, I think I’d rather trust AW’s judgement than some bloke down the pub.

     
  5. @mike or whomever the author of this b/s article is. you should be ashamed of yourself and if you had any dignity you would pull this down. havent we learnt from Ramseys case?

     
    • Thanks for your message.

      All I’m saying is let’s see how he does. We had Andrei Arshavin who was supposed to be the man to take us to the next level and look what happened to him. Anyway, if you read the article, you would have read that I think he’s done well so far but still has that extra couple of levels to go before being considered the saviour. It’s hardly controversial to say he can still do better.

      And regarding Ramsey, I’m one of the few blogs what supported him since he arrived at Arsenal. If you go to away games, Ramsey is the first player out of the changing rooms to take pictures and sign autographs for the fans, and the last player to get onto the bus. I’ve always like him and seen that he gives 110% every time he steps onto the pitch.

       
      • Arshavin was a completely different purchase to Özil! Arshavin had just had a good Euro’s and looked like he was ready to make the big jump. He signed for us from Zenit. Zenit – not Real Madrid! He still needed to prove himself, and chose to do it at Arsenal, where he shone for a short while before declining further and further until we all wanted him got rid.

        Özil is coming from a TOP club where he has already proved himself. We’re buying him as a complete player, not a potential. He has already shown glimpses of what makes him so special, and that’s without having the time to really settle in.

        Patience is a virtue. You’d think people would be ok with that considering we’re currently sitting 4 points clear at the top.

         
      • Arshavin is a different case, coupled with being played out of position and struggling to stay fit (and not fat!) its not difficult to see how he deteriorated as months years went by….Arshavin had one good euro and that was it whearas Ozil has been there done that and im pretty sure not long ago you called £42m for Ozil more or less a bargain.

        Wtf mike, we have a good thing going ob right now why do you have to go after ozil? why do people expect magic each time just coz we flashed out big bucks??? ridiculous!
        seriously i know everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion but dont force it on others like this blog is trying to do……

         
        • Hi Brayan, I’m not “going after” Ozil, just asking the question which seems to create debates amongst Arsenal fans. There seems to be a slight divide on him at the moment.

          We’ve never spent anywhere near this kind of money before, so there are always going to be a few doubters.

           
          • The price tag on Ozils head was no problem when we signed him. we knew just how good he was at the time. fastforward ozil underperforms in a few games (in the eyes of the deluded one) plus missing a penalty and suddenly people start to question his price tag??? how very fickle!. Ozil is worth every penny not just for his on field performances but he has almost single handedly lifted the dressing room up a notch…..we needed that imo

             
  6. You actually made a good point.It’s time Wenger sits and talk to Ozil,this is how Arshavin started.He needs to develop and be clinical in front of goals,he is the highest paid player in the team and his teammates look up to him.
    He has to perform better week in week out.

     
  7. Its a misplaced question bent on inviting unneccessary criticism for Ozil & Wenger coming from the same pple who claim to be Arsenal supporters !!They are the same pple who are enjoying Ramsey s’ brilliant season yet they wanted him out as recently as last season!Pple shld be patient with our players coz the intensity of the English league is nt easy to adapt to if u r foreign!Lets support & be patient with him coz he is good.Here we r nt talking of potential,its been proven….

     
  8. He’s been quiet this few games i agree!. Whats the cause? Wenger to find out and to
    remedy it quick. If its his fitnes then by all means get him fitter. He’s a world class no
    doubt but unfit there’s not much to show on the field either.

     
  9. Why are some of our own fans so in need of having a player to beat down, Eboue, Gervinho, Ramsey, Santos etc. always attacking our own players and still now doing it even when we are top of the table and our Champions league group?

    I can understand why jealous fans and ex players/pundits of other teams would like to discredit Ozil and others, but why some of our own fans are jumping on the bandwagon I can’t explain?

    Ozil has played well so far, maybe not as spectacularly as his start but all the stats show that even in his supposedly ‘poor’ games he is creating lots of chances and passing the ball well.

    If you aren’t patient enough to give a quality player like Ozil time to adjust to a new league and a new team then you don’t deserve to be calling yourself an Arsenal supporter.

    Give him 100% of your support and he will show you what he is capable of, constantly question his ability for no legitimate reason and you will ruin his confidence like our supporters have done to numerous others before (thank heaven Ramsey overcame it).

    This is not directed specifically at the author, though I think a poorly thought out question and article such as this just feeds the trolls who are never happy unless they have someone to put down, which just hurts the club they claim to support.

     
  10. Ozil worth every penny spent on him. He might not be playing at the level we all want now but his presence is a catalyst to our squad. So far this season he has given the team important assists. I know those who crucified him will sing his praise. We condemned Per Mertasacker that he is sluggish player but today imagine Arsenal defence without him. Ramsey, Chamberlain were all condemned but we want them always. Let’s be patience

     
  11. Even last night when he was a bit quiet, he still assisted on the second goal. Some of his passes were really sublime. All this talk about him is premature, the guy needs time to settle in.

     
  12. Relax and enjoy the show 😉 … He still finding his feet in the league, while doing so he is still performing “good”. He is one of the German player I fell in love with when performing at the 2010 world cup. One of them is Mert and look how he is performing now?? He maybe slow but his positional skill and reading of the game is something you can’t teach, another player is Bastian schweinstaiger. For Ozil just watch and see :)….

     
  13. Fans are ready to judge, if anybody played football you understand there are 11 players in the field. They feel on each other. Do I say that Olivier had a bad game, or Wilsher had a great game. It depends how the game flow, sometimes it is away from on players and another time he is in the flow. Please go back and watch Ozil playing for RM or the National team. It will take time to mesh with other players to understand their moves and where they want to receive the ball. I have seen Ozil plenty of time is frustrated because others play but he is patient and trying to understand his team mate.

     
  14. Last night he was poor – he was misplacing passes and the terrible penalty summed up his night. He did provide an assist for the second goal though, which is brilliant since he was having an “off night”.

    He is quality but I did find his “relaxed” style of play a bit uneasy. With the penalty, why couldn’t he just put his foot through it instead of trying to be clever? Was he trying to prove something and show he doesn’t need to try?

    Sure, Dennis missed that penalty against United in the FA Cup semi-final but at least he got his head down and put his foot through it. He certainly didn’t try to be clever and dance before shooting.

     
  15. I see a lot of time ,his power is slow down.
    His is not lazy but slow, slowly play is not fit in epl..
    i want to call ozil playstyle is coolplay
    man.u have rooney in no.10
    man.city have aguaro
    chealse have oscar
    we have ozil
    in liverpool…
    they have SAS but they haven’t no.10
    if they ozil
    Surez Stargures
    Ozil
    it is very dangerous in Epl and Euro
    Now,if we haven’t ozil, i think we cann’t have on top of Epl tital
    so ,it is ozil for arsenal and arsenal for ozil
    we forget ,ozil play for arsenal about 12 games
    in ozil zide, lazy is not slow but he can try to quick
    Ok ozil is coming good for arsenal and arsenal’fans..
    so, let wait ozil and arsenal
    we see again in end of 2013-14 season.

     

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