Mesut Ozil had easily his quietest game in an Arsenal shirt at Swansea in what was probably the most important game the team had yet played with him as a Gunner. Strangely enough, he deserves some credit for that.
Once again placed centrally in the advanced midfield, and flanked by Jack Wilshere on the left and Serge Gnabry on the right, Ozil did all of the typical things that you’d like your playmaker to do, dropping deep to receive the ball, sustaining attacking moves with receptions of passes followed by quick passes of his own, running off the ball. He did this well and the compilation of his works is not at all bereft of deft touches, pretty moves or nice passes. He contributed as a member of a winning team, but let others shine, with Ramsey, Wilshere and Gnabry all having excellent games.
What struck me though was Serge Gnabry’s performance, and in particular what it said about Ozil. I wrote last week about how Arsenal missed Theo Walcott, and how Gnabry’s replacement of Theo in the lineup was hurting the attack; unlike Theo who likes to make sudden diagonal runs onto through balls, Gnabry prefers the ball at his feet and is more comfortable centrally than out wide, depriving Arsenal of width, tempo and space. (https://cwpo1973.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/arsenal-tactics-what-serge-gnabry-taught-us-about-theo-walcott/) In the first half at Swansea, this was once again borne out. The team played narrowly, Gnabry played a less advanced game than Theo would have, and he often drifted towards the middle of the pitch just as he had at home against Stoke.
This hurt Arsenal given that the Gunners were locked in a battle for possession against a good Swansea team, and so sudden counter-attacking moves off of wide runs such as Theo specializes in would have been quite helpful. Indeed, Arsenal’s best – really, only – scoring chance in the first half came from a move crafted by Gnabry to Giroud, who dragged his shot wide, across the goal.
At that moment, Gnabry was playing centrally (left-centrally, actually), with the ball at his feet. You’d far more expect Ozil or Wilshere to have made that move than Gnabry given the position on the pitch.
In the second half, Gnabry was spotted even more in the middle of the pitch making driving runs at the opposition with the ball. Notably, these runs were effective as they unsettled the Swansea defense and created opportunities for Gnabry to lay the ball off to teammates who had suddenly drifted into space. Gnabry’s moves with the ball were reminiscent of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s play during the 2011-12 season.
In short, despite being the youngest player on the pitch, and playing in only his third league match for Arsenal, Gnabry was showing at the end of the first half and in the opening minutes of the second half that he was the Arsenal player best suited to create scoring chances for Arsenal.
Putting aside for a moment the wonderful implications of that statement for Gnabry himself and Arsenal F.C., let’s also consider what that says about Ozil. In order for Gnabry to have the opportunity to create chances in the central midfield, Ozil had to literally step aside. This Ozil did, typically by drifting out wide to the right. Ozil had a good number of touches and contributed to the team’s build-up play, but they were quiet touches that wouldn’t make much impression on Match of the Day or any other highlight reel.
It is stunning to me that a world class player, signed for the second highest transfer fee ever in Premier League history, willingly and without complaint stepped aside for an 18-year old who is so unknown that most Gooners don’t even know how to pronounce his last name (hard “G”, soft “a”… I think). Ozil easily ranks among the top 15 footballers in the world. Think of the pressure upon Ozil as a newly transferred player to show to his club he’s worth the fee and salary paid. There’s also got to be some feeling on his part that he wants to show the still-sniping management at Real Madrid that he didn’t take a backwards career step by opting for Arsenal.
I cannot think of another star of his caliber who would have so silently given way on his stage to a young player for the good of the team. Could you imagine Cristiano Ronaldo moving off his left wing for an unknown player, or Messi moving out wide to help the team? Wayne Rooney seems to sulk every time Robin Van Persie is even on the pitch, and it’s not like Van Persie is some unknown reserve player who can’t be expected to help his team win. Would you expect this team-first attitude from Luis Suarez?
This willingness to be a team player reveals Ozil’s character and his conception of himself. He self-identifies as someone who helps others score goals more than he scores goals himself. As much as any physical talent that he has brought with him to Arsenal, that “service first” identity is why he appears to have so seamlessly blended into the Arsenal squad in his first weeks in London. It’s Arsene Wenger’s team building vision manifest.
Despite the star-studded era we live in, football is still a team sport and while the need for quality is a given at the highest level, the Premier League is nevertheless typically won by squads that know how to play together effectively as a team. Arsenal know how to do this this year, and that is why they are legitimate contenders for the league title. Amazingly, they even found a world class player who was willing to stoop so that his team could conquer, with an unknown 18-year old leading the charge.
Thanks to Ozil’s professional wisdom and humility, Arsenal is not being peppered with headlines about internal discord that would detract from an otherwise pleasant Sunday alone atop the league table.
-Chris
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The ‘Gn’ is pronounced as ‘Y’. As in Sessegnon. So it is pronounced ‘Yabry’. From his Francophone origin. His father is Ivorian.
Wow, interesting. I’ve not even heard that pronunciation once.