Of all Arsenal’s failings against Liverpool: the defensive disaster, Olivier Giroud’s anonymity, Jack Wilshere’s petulance, perhaps the most alarming aspect of the 5-1 defeat for Arsene Wenger is the diminishing influence of his record signing.
At Anfield, Mesut Ozil looked disinterested and demotivated. When substituted in the 61st minute having made just 33 passes he failed to acknowledge the visiting fans who had sat through the Gunners’ worst display of the season.
That hour of play has highlighted what has been a pretty miserable and ineffective two months for the 25-year-old who has just two assists in his last 10 appearances.
In what could be the most crucial 10 days of Arsenal season – with the visits of Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich in three different competitions – Wenger’s best player is drastically under performing.
The wisdom of signing the German international in the summer was questioned at the time due to Arsenal’s already abundance of creative midfield players.
He wasn’t necessarily bringing anything extra into the squad and there were more pressing needs, in particular at fullback and in attack.
Yet a series of impressive displays soon quietened those particular critics, Ozil had energised and reinvigorated a stale squad and Arsenal fans were once again dreaming of a Premier League title.
However, since his last goal for the club on December 8 against Everton, his performance levels and productivity have dropped significantly.
If you remove the 3-1 win at West Ham on Boxing Day in which he made eight chances, he’s created a goalscoring opportunity for his team-mates on average every 46 minutes. In the previous 18 appearances, having arrived from Real Madrid, it was a chance every 25 minutes.
The Premier League has always been an unforgiving place for playmakers, to the extent they’re often accommodated by being stationed out wide.
Ozil is a pure No10, he doesn’t offer much in terms of midfield graft or defensive work so when he isn’t scoring or creating chances he tends to disappear.
The cause of the problem, and subsequent solution, could simply be fatigue. Not only is the Premier League more fast-paced and physically demanding, both aerobically and anaerobically, than La Liga but Ozil is just not accustomed to playing this much football.
In the 2012-13 season for Real Madrid and Germany by the second week of February he had played in 32 matches, completing 2,391 minutes.
The previous campaign it was 29 and 2,097 minutes. This term for Madrid, Arsenal and the national team it’s 35 games and 2,870 minutes.
In addition, of those 32 games in 2012-13 he only completed 90 minutes on 14 occasions. This term he’s reached that mark 20 times. In 2011-12 it was just eight.
When you factor in the greater physical efforts of playing in England, it is no wonder Ozil’s influence is waning.
With Bayern on the horizon, Wenger may be wise to give his German genius a rest for the United and Liverpool matches or Arsenal’s season could effectively be over by mid-February.
