Will Mesut Ozil’s Arsenal exile come to an end on Saturday against Wolverhampton Wanderers? There is a large section of Arsenal supporters hoping it does.
Mesut Ozil made just his third start of the 2019-20 season on Wednesday night at Anfield. The Arsenal attacking midfielder put in quite the performance for a player that has been frozen out at the club.
Still, it wasn’t enough to complete the 90 minutes as Arsenal manager Unai Emery took Ozil off on 65 minutes while boos rained down from the Gunners’ travelling support.
Although it is clear Emery does not fancy playing Ozil, the German’s Arsenal exile could be coming to an end thanks to his play in midweek. However, Emery may not have been moved by the performance as Arsenal host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday at the Emirates.
Arsenal exile: Mesut Ozil
Ozil has played in just three matches for the Gunners this term. His only Premier League appearance came in a 2-2 draw against Watford. The midfielder didn’t even finish that match and was taken off on 71 minutes by the manager.
His only other appearances for Arsenal came in the Carabao Cup. Four straight Premier League fixtures have passed with Emery not selecting Ozil for the team. The German cannot even get a spot on the bench, which has perplexed plenty of onlookers.
According to Whoscored.com, Ozil completed 94% of his passes against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup fourth round. He contributed one assist and had a hand in the build-up of two other Arsenal goals. The midfielder had just 44 touches of the ball and did a lot with seeing very little of it.
The man Ozil is competing with for a starting berth in the team is on-loan Real Madrid player Dani Ceballos, who came on as a second-half substitute and was wholly anonymous against Liverpool. The only memorable moment of the night that concerned Ceballos was his missed penalty in the shootout that allowed Liverpool to take advantage and gain the victory.
Ozil made two key passes during the night, according to Whoscored.com. Despite losing the fixture, Arsenal looked far better in attack with Ozil pulling the strings in the opening 65 minutes.
Will Ozil play against Wolverhampton Wanderers?
The question after Ozil’s excellent play against Liverpool is: will he play against Wolverhampton Wanderers? Emery has shown he has not been moved by media and fans clamouring for Ozil to play. The Spanish manager may very well continue Ozil’s Arsenal exile this weekend by not selecting him for the team.
Although Ozil was hauled off by Emery after just over an hour, he still shook the manager’s hand and appeared professional as he took his seat on the bench. Ozil even posted on social media a positive message following the loss to Liverpool.
Ozil wrote: “Crazy and incredible match. Losing on penalties is always tough, but definitely some positive things to take away from Anfield Road tonight. Thanks for the away support! Focus on Wolverhampton now!”
Fantasy Premier League managers will remember Ozil’s best season in fantasy football. In 2015-16, Ozil tallied 200 FPL points thanks to six goals and 19 assists. That was the best Ozil but it seems unlikely that will occur again with Emery in charge.
