All about Mesut Özil

Ohhh Ozil. Watching you feels like the same feeling when you finally bed the girl you obsessed over in Year 11 and meet years later, spend loads of money taking her out and then finding out eventually shes useless in bed.

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Arsenal signed a guy who excels creating chances for fast forwards for 60 minutes & play him 90 mins with slow forwards.

DuringTheWar wrote:

M99 wrote:All German matches I saw with him starting, he took the pens (and scored).

What way did he take them? Did he jog to the ball and wait to see the keeper move?

The Bayern match saw his worst penalty. He is not that bad normally. Crumbled under the pressure last night.

Lmao I thought in the first few mins "Jesus Ozil can't even place a good 3 metres long pass" then he gets a penalty, I knew he was going to miss it

Bénin wrote:

RED wrote:

Busby Babe wrote:Wenger on Ozil miss: 'He was affected by it ... even 5-10 mins later he was still shaking his head. It had a huge impact on his performance'

Why let him last 90 mins then?

Ozil should have been subbed off instead of Cazorla. Don't know what Wenger was thinking there

Has he done it i'm pretty sure Ozil's confidence would have dropped for 2 months (easily). I remember Tata saying something like he had to start the same players who played bad and lost the week before otherwise he'd have lost them for the season.

Well that's on Ozil. If that's the case, then it shows how mentally weak Ozil is. Why should he get preferential treatment due to it and have someone who was playing better be the consequence because of it? I know he missed a penalty, but that's not the first time he's missed one this season. Ozil's form has been poor for quite a while now. Wenger should have done what was good for the team and that was to sub Ozil off instead of Cazorla.

his gf is prolly bangin someone else. he has that van der vaart aura about him these days

Wenger on Özil's miss and whether he's recovered from it:

"Certainly not. 48 hours is a bit short. It's part of the job to deal with disappointment and prove you can get on with it. He apologised after the game. I don't think people are shocked he missed, it's just he takes his penalties in an unusual way.

"I believe that at the moment I have to let him recover from that. I have seen this before with Bergkamp, missing in 1999 (in the FA Cup semi-final replay against Manchester United) and refusing after to take any penalties."

The Bergkamp bit is also an interesting little detail.

"I don't think people are shocked he missed, it's just he takes his penalties in an unusual way"

Are you serious?? why do you let him take it then?

You want your supposed offensive superstar to take responsibility and leadership... that means PKs and FKs. For example, Benzema is taking FKs when it's farther away (out of Ribery's range). He hits them very hard and accurately... but since you never see him do it at Madrid, you don't know that he has that in him. He's also the second PK taker after Ribery.

Ozil never took PKs for Madrid either. He has to get used to taking them for Arsenal. It shows leadership and it also trains him to cope with the pressure.

Higuain takes the PKs for Napoli... and he never, ever took them with NT or Madrid.

It's basically a statement by the manager that he's counting on you...

halamadrid2 wrote:"I don't think people are shocked he missed, it's just he takes his penalties in an unusual way"

Are you serious?? why do you let him take it then?

Running slowly and analysing the keepers movement is a great way to take penalties, IF you're good at it....

I think Wenger has a lot of hope for him and keeps giving him starts and space so he has the freedom to improve. Unfortunately its not exactly working out for Ozil yet due to various factors. But I think OZil himself needs to work it out as he himself is the most important factor. We will see if he really can become one of the top great players if he can bounce back.

Think he either needs to work very hard on improving the speed of his shot after a stutter run or change it altogether.

I'm not against him taking another penalty if it comes down to him having to. He needs to accept some responsibility rather than shy away from it.

Still, he's only been here 6 months. Knew after his great initial form that it would plateau or even drop.

Art Morte wrote:Wenger on Özil's miss and whether he's recovered from it:

"Certainly not. 48 hours is a bit short. It's part of the job to deal with disappointment and prove you can get on with it. He apologised after the game. I don't think people are shocked he missed, it's just he takes his penalties in an unusual way.

"I believe that at the moment I have to let him recover from that. I have seen this before with Bergkamp, missing in 1999 (in the FA Cup semi-final replay against Manchester United) and refusing after to take any penalties."

The Bergkamp bit is also an interesting little detail.

You can tell Wenger is pissed off with him by reading that statement. That he partially blames him for the defeat.

He apologised after the game. I don't think people are shocked he missed, it's just he takes his penalties in an unusual way.

This part here. There is no encouragement from wenger, no 'he did good for us, he didn't need to apologise, he will bounce back from it stronger'. All he does is criticise his penalty taking method.

Well, whenever Wenger tries to defend his players from anything, he gets criticized anyway

DuringTheWar wrote:

halamadrid2 wrote:"I don't think people are shocked he missed, it's just he takes his penalties in an unusual way"

Are you serious?? why do you let him take it then?

Running slowly and analysing the keepers movement is a great way to take penalties, IF you're good at it....

Problem is Neuer knows Özil speculates and waited longer therefore. Also, it was simply a poorly taken penalty. It happens.

Still Özil is usually a good penalty taker.

Alaba missed his too, you don't see us ripping him apart for that.

That's because you won

The ball was aimed near center, similar to how Messi took his against Man City.

Nothing wrong with Ozil's shot, it's just Bayern keeper did a great save, he committed his body to dive to his left side and managed to controlled his arm to save the ball that was heading towards the middle.

Lex wrote:That's because you won

If you think Alaba would've gotten even a tiny brush of criticism for the penalty if we'd lost you're dead wrong.

anh165 wrote:
The ball was aimed near center, similar to how Messi took his against Man City.

Nothing wrong with Ozil's shot, it's just Bayern keeper did a great save, he committed his body to dive to his left side and managed to controlled his arm to save the ball that was heading towards the middle.

It was a terrible PK.

RED wrote:

Art Morte wrote:Wenger on Özil's miss and whether he's recovered from it:

"Certainly not. 48 hours is a bit short. It's part of the job to deal with disappointment and prove you can get on with it. He apologised after the game. I don't think people are shocked he missed, it's just he takes his penalties in an unusual way.

"I believe that at the moment I have to let him recover from that. I have seen this before with Bergkamp, missing in 1999 (in the FA Cup semi-final replay against Manchester United) and refusing after to take any penalties."

The Bergkamp bit is also an interesting little detail.

You can tell Wenger is pissed off with him by reading that statement. That he partially blames him for the defeat.

He apologised after the game. I don't think people are shocked he missed, it's just he takes his penalties in an unusual way.

This part here. There is no encouragement from wenger, no 'he did good for us, he didn't need to apologise, he will bounce back from it stronger'. All he does is criticise his penalty taking method.

Rather harsh and not entirely true. Wenger probably was angry at him initially, but he doesn't appear to be a coach that would hold grudges against players just because of something like that. And while he didn't encourage him, he also didn't discourage him either. He understands how much pressure a PK like that weighs on a player. He's understands that too much to be so petty.

So I'm not sure it's entirely accurate to antagonize Wenger on this topic.

Penalty isnt really the issue is it? penalty miss happens. Blame wenger for asking Ozil to take pen against his NT teammate. his ''i dont give a damn about defending'' attitude ,now that was terrible.

He is terrible at defending but under mourinho he never wandered around as if defending is not his job, he always tried, he was scared of Mou. I think he places himself above the team in Arsenal...he is showing Ronaldo/Messi like attitude when he isnt even performing like them.

McLewis wrote:

RED wrote:

Art Morte wrote:Wenger on Özil's miss and whether he's recovered from it:



The Bergkamp bit is also an interesting little detail.

You can tell Wenger is pissed off with him by reading that statement. That he partially blames him for the defeat.

He apologised after the game. I don't think people are shocked he missed, it's just he takes his penalties in an unusual way.

This part here. There is no encouragement from wenger, no 'he did good for us, he didn't need to apologise, he will bounce back from it stronger'. All he does is criticise his penalty taking method.

Rather harsh and not entirely true. Wenger probably was angry at him initially, but he doesn't appear to be a coach that would hold grudges against players just because of something like that. And while he didn't encourage him, he also didn't discourage him either. He understands how much pressure a PK like that weighs on a player. He's understands that too much to be so petty.

So I'm not sure it's entirely accurate to antagonize Wenger on this topic.

It's not that he will hold a grudge against Ozil, but you can tell Wenger was pissed off with him and is still pissed off. Take for instance SAF or Mourinho, no matter how annoyed they were with a player after a match, they would still encourage them in some way. Saying they are important to the team and that they will come back stronger.

Maybe Wenger has said that about Ozil, I don't know, but judging by those quotes, you can tell he is annoyed with Ozil.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/feb/20/mesut-ozil-arsenal-bayern-munich-champions-league#start-of-comments

Mesut Özil is Arsenal's luxury item struggling with everyday use
 

Mesut Özil misses a penalty
Arsenal's Mesut Özil struggled to recover his composure after missing a penalty against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Photograph: Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images

The missed penalty was depressing enough and when Mesut Özil's stuttering run and kick did not fox Bayern Munich's goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, the sense of deflation at Arsenal was palpable, but it was what happened next that focused a debate taking in the hope and the soul-searching, and so many of the plot-lines that have tracked the club's season.

Everyone had a view on Özil's Champions League performance in the 2-0 last-16 first-leg defeat on Wednesday, and how it had slumped from the high point of the sublime trick that won the penalty in the eighth minute from the Bayern defender Jérôme Boateng. After the miss, Özil stumbled in a daze for a period that Arsène Wenger put at between five and 10 minutes and it was shocking to see how the Germany playmaker failed to revive himself.

The soundbite of the evening came from Alisher Usmanov, Arsenal's second-largest shareholder, as he departed the stadium with his entourage. Perhaps, it was gilded by his heavy accent or, maybe, by the Bond villain-style delivery. Usmanov was asked for his opinion on Özil's display. "My view?" he said. "Less than his capacity."

Mathieu Flamini, Arsenal's defensive midfield dog of war, had already made his feelings plain, having berated Özil late in the tie over a failure to track back. Flamini flicked his hands angrily, as he yelled at Özil and he did it again, and again, and again, to the point where it felt as though he was grandstanding.

Özil betrayed no emotion but in the TV studio, Michael Ballack, the former Bayern and Germany captain, made an interesting point. Ballack remembered how Per Mertesacker, the Arsenal centre-half, had rollicked Özil after the 6-3 defeat at Manchester City in December for his unwillingness to acknowledge the club's travelling supporters and he reached a conclusion that was bold but not unreasonable.

"I was watching one situation where Flamini was moaning to him," Ballack said. "It seems like Özil does not have the acceptance of his team. Also, Mertesacker two months ago, when he was shouting at him on the pitch. A player like him should be untouchable with his quality, but it looks like he has not [got] the acceptance."

Mertesacker did not attach too much importance to the Flamini rant, largely because Flamini does not discriminate over his targets. "He tries to keep everyone alive and that is massive for the team so I won't assess that as an argument," Mertesacker said. "It is good to be alive and to show each other that we are ready to fight. We need everyone on the pitch with this full mental strength and maturity."

It was impossible to ignore the angst with regard to Özil and the impression formed since his club record £42.5m signing from Real Madrid in September that his genius must be indulged and it comes at a cost.

Özil is one reason why people love football. Never mind that his arrival at Arsenal altered the destructive perception about Wenger's reluctance to spend big money and, also, offered the club a tremendous lift, he can do things with the ball that few others can; he illuminates matches with single flashes. He is a luxury item, but who does not like luxuries?

Yet the marks in the debit column against him that underpinned Real's decision to sell have not only followed him to England, they have deepened. The Real manager, Carlo Ancelotti, knew he would get lovely stuff from Özil but he worried about his capacity to play with sustained intensity. In England, the tempo and the schedule is even more remorseless.

Özil announced himself to English fans at the European Under-21 Championship in 2009, when he orchestrated Germany's 4-0 demolition of England in the final and Sir Trevor Brooking said that he was the sort of player this country did not produce and ought to do so. Yet English football has long regarded the mercurial No10 with suspicion and it revealed much when Wenger said last week that Özil had hit the gym hard in an attempt to bulk up. The move had been necessary but, on another level, faintly vulgar.

Özil's performance against Bayern was his Arsenal career in microcosm. As Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain bombed up the right in the opening minutes, Özil pulled the strings.

He is a player who looks better the higher the quality of his forward-thinking team-mates and it is no coincidence that his form has dipped since the turn of the year while Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott have been injured. There was also the moment of magic when he won the penalty.

He then drifted and when Wenger had to sacrifice an outfield player after the sending off in the 38th minute of the goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny, he might have withdrawn Özil rather than Santi Cazorla. The either/or question had a broader context. Can Wenger accommodate Özil and Cazorla in the same team?

Usmanov was asked why he felt Özil had been off-colour. "Maybe he is tired," he replied. It was Özil's 40th appearance of the season, including six for Germany and two for Real. The 25-year-old has had to contend with what he calls "English weeks" and he has been struck, not only by the absence of a winter break, but the way that "you just have games, on and on and on". There is no spell to nullify the culture shock.

"It is not normal to come here and perform well in the first season over 50 games," said Mertesacker, who experienced a difficult transition after his move from Werder Bremen in 2011. "But Mesut is a massive player and, game by game, he will come back even stronger. It is obvious that when you miss a penalty in the first 10 minutes, you are disappointed. But you have to get over it quickly."

Özil had not got over it on Thursday. "The next morning doesn't feel better, either," he wrote on Facebook. "Sorry guys, it wasn't planned that way."

Özil has to pick up the pieces.

Mourinho support and encourage???? The same guy that decides to do his criticising of players in public instead of in private. THAT Mourinho????

Wenger was right to be pissed. It was a horrible penalty and if you have tame shots like Ozil ideally you would be better of taking it from afar. It cost Arsenal an early lead which would have allowed them to sit back and counter and put the pressure on Bayern to get an away goal

Alaba's miss is more forgivable because he was just a little unlucky that his shot was slightly too far from the bottom corner

sportsczy wrote:
Higuain takes the PKs for Napoli... and he never, ever took them with NT or Madrid.

That's not true.

Higuain and Raul were the two main pen takers for Madrid in 2008/09 as Ruud was injured almost the whole season. I remember vividly Pipa scoring 2 pens in a game where he scored a poker.