We have been here before with Ozil, notably at Manchester City
when Arsenal lost 6-3, and again in the 5-0 defeat at Liverpool.
So what if he scored the first of four goals in an FA Cup
quarter-final at home to Everton last Saturday? That’s a sticking plaster.
There is a wider issue here and it is down to Arsene Wenger to find out what is
wrong with one of the most talented players in the game.
The exuberance has deserted him just when his team-mates are
looking to the former Real Madrid ace for inspiration.
His time at the Bernabeu has gone and he must look wistfully
at the team who beat Schalke 6-1 in this competition recently.
The days when he drifted in and out of games with Real are
behind him. Now he just looks like a lost soul, lazy and uninterested.
A week ago, in the Stuttgart Stadion, Germany fans were on his back in their victory
over Chile.
He had set up the only goal for Mario Gotze but it still
wasn’t enough. Three weeks ago in London,
it was all too much for him after he had missed the chance to put Arsenal ahead
from the spot.
His great friend Manuel Neuer saved the penalty and Ozil’s
game fell apart. This was another limp contribution, a player going through the
motions as Arsenal inevitably went out of the Champions League in the first
knockout round.
The match passed him by.
Stationed on the right, where he often plays for the
national team, his first meaningful contribution was a corner in the 31st
minute. It was met by the head of Olivier Giroud. Neuer did well to save it.
After this, it is down to Wenger to rescue him.
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