Ever since Mesut Ozil’s record-breaking move to Arsenal in last summers transfer window he has been the centre of everything to do with Arsenal.

He was the big name signing fans have been craving for years, he has been integral to Arsenal’s rise to the top of the table for the majority of the season and he has been the reason why many people now believe this season could be the season Arsenal end their trophy drought.

However, in recent weeks Ozil has had to deal with something for the first time in his professional career, and that is criticism. The British media are infamous for targeting footballers and unfortunately it affects our opinions.

Many critics are now proclaiming Ozil has lost ‘it’, that he does not warrant his price tag and that he was not even that good in the first place. Well, I for one could not disagree more.

What Does Ozil Do?

Last night Ozil missed a crucial penalty. How crucial we will never know, but he should of put Arsenal 1-0 after 8 minutes. Arsenal went on to lose the first leg 2-0 and face an almost impossible task to salvage their Champions League dreams.

I noticed many people question why Ozil took the penalty in the first place. It was a perfect opportunity for the German to regain his confidence, to fire Arsenal into a deserved lead against the best team in the world that consists of many of his international teammates.

Bollocks, he missed it. He had to frickin’ miss it.

You could see how much it affected him. He was still staring at the stars for an answer 5 minutes later. Would substituting him instead of Cazorla been more beneficial? Maybe. But if making that decision were so easy we would all be Premier League managers.

Now fans are calling for Ozil to be dropped. Some say he needs a rest, some say he deserves it for being out of form, others are questioning his attitude and effort. But Ozil brings so much to the team; it is extremely disrespectful to claim a player of Ozil’s stature does not care about the team.

Would it be wise to drop him now? Wenger has a reputation for keeping faith in those players who do not repay him with improved performances. Bendtner, Denilson, Almunia, Arshavin are the names that spring to mind.

However, Ozil is different. Ozil is undoubtedly world class. Ozil is the best playmaker in the world.

Ozil is the beating heart of the team and he needs to realise that once again. There is a reason why so many Real Madrid players were disappointed with his departure.

Many considered him the second best player in the team, and that is quite an honour bearing in mind the caliber of players surrounding him. He created countless amount of goals for his teammates and is one of the reasons why Wenger was willing to part with so much money.

He looked truly sublime when he arrived at the Emirates Stadium. His performance against Napoli (some pointing out it was his last great performance in an Arsenal shirt) was inspirational.

Since that joyous October night, Ozil has supposedly not been himself. But even an off form Ozil has still contributed a number of assists.

More recently, his performance against Liverpool (no, not THAT one) was fantastic. He did not get a Man of the Match recognition, but every attacking movement went through him. He was a delight to watch.

What Next for Mesut?

With a player of Ozil’s brilliance, fans will naturally have high expectations; incredibly high expectations in fact. But I am a firm believer that when a player loves to a different country to play in a completely different league he deserves to be judged on his second season.

Take Giroud for example, he had his critics last season too, but this season he has been one of Arsenal’s most important players. Giroud has been brilliant.

I think the best thing for Ozil is to play these next few games, especially the weekend game versus Sunderland. I would like nothing less than to see Ozil pull the strings and thread the killer ball to cut open the defence and guide Arsenal to an emphatic victory.

Then again, knowing football fans, they will bring up the idea that he can’t do it in the big games. Sigh.

Conclusion

I think the fans need to calm down and keep up the incredible support for the remainder of the season. The team is one point off the top of the league and is one victory away from playing an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. Was Champions League success ever a realistic possibility? Not really.

Lets enjoy our team and back our players, because what good comes from constant negativity?

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