I think that is harsh. My take on Özil is that he is just past his best. He seems to have lost that verve and vision, whether he was playing for Germany or us. I'm not sure what it is specifically, and I imagine a lot of it is mental. But I really doubt that it is solely a matter of motivation and character.

I'm very happy with the Partey signing and, if Kroenke uncorked, with that too. Does that make us financially doped? I suppose it would depend on the details.

In fact, if you go back a couple of weeks you'll see I was contesting the anti-Kroenke narrative. Firstly, clearly Arteta has been getting support from the club, and what more would you want from an owner? Chest beating avowals of support or 100% attendance I can do without. Silent Stan is fine by me. Secondly, is there any suggestion that his wealth is ill-gotten?

Speaking for myself--I am really enjoying this season. I think it is because football -- even like this-- feels so normal and right. Springtime means erythrinas blooming, pottering around in the garden, tons of marking, and football on the telly/radio, mostly (admittedly) in the background.

Plus we don't see totally hopeless this season.

Sounds like you're agreeing with me that the problem is mental. Motivation comes into that as well because in his situation it has to be his self motivation to want to do something. So his motivation to play is gone but he prefers to keep getting paid massive wages with no intention of improving or actually doing what's required. That's called a bludger and is 100% aligned with character.

Lastly, if he has legitimate mental health issues then that's a different issue and if so I take my mental weakling comments back.

If Arteta wanted Özil in the team, he’d have the freedom to select him. I’m sure of that. Özil’s comments about the Chinese issue were made in December. Arteta continued playing him until the lockdown stopped football in March, nearly three months later. The other things you mention I just don’t see as relevant as you. As I said, if Arteta wanted Özil in the team I honestly think he’d be able to select him.

I reckon the freezing out of Özil has far more to do with his poor form when Arteta was putting him in the team, and Özil not fitting in with the way Arteta wants the team to play. Pressing the opposition when they have the ball. That just isn’t Özil’s game.

Yes, not fitting the manager's way of playing has to be the reason Özil is in deep freeze - nothing to do with his ability, relationships with the team or mental weakness. Reminds me a lot of Bertie Mee deciding George Eastham's days were over back in 1966. George was nowhere near finished as a player, as his subsequent time at Stoke City proved - the manager simply wanted a different type of footballer. When Özil leaves us it wouldn't surprise me to see him have a productive end to his career at another club. Arteta may have no use for him, but other managers will find a way to take advantage of his sublime skills.

Tierney has nothing to recover from. He has tested negative three times. Amazingly he is also shown to have antibodies (we could all do with some of those).

He has to isolate because he was near someone who did test positive. He/Arsenal dispute that it was close/long enough to be pertinent.

For that alone I'll remember Özil fondly.

But if Arteta has decided he isn’t going to play him for footballing reasons, as you accept, and after the transfer window’s activity Arsenal had to exclude two existing players to meet the squad limits in place, isn’t Özil an obvious choice to be one of the two excluded?

Sorry, I’d call it logic more than ‘power play’.

If anything it’s a power play from Özil who has just downed tools for several years to try and force Arsenal to get fed up and pay off his contract. The player we’ve seen in recent seasons bears no semblance to the one signed in his first year and when you get subbed off in a European final and joe willock comes on and looks instantly better you have to take a serious look at yourself.

The press said this week Arsenal have made several offers to him to settle his contract but he’s holding out for a complete settlement despite the fact he could get a huge pay off for doing nothing AND agree a new contract elsewhere.

The debate about Özil has become so boring he can’t go soon enough and the club have been absolutely right to drop him in the recent squads

He’s not a class player, maybe once but no more. What about when he stunk out a European final and a youth player came on and looked like Messi compared to him.

Every single one of them did better even Iwobi

Seriously, what hurt as Özil inflicted upon Arsenal? He has not made himself unavailable to play nor has he publicly trashed the club or manager. He is abiding by his contract. We should accept the situation for what it is without blaming him - the manager does not want him in the team, and that is the sum of it.

I think it's a bit sad that it comes to this. There's no doubt Özil is an immense football talent; I'm going to go out on a limb and say he has possibly the best final pass of any Arsenal player I've ever seen (and bear in mind that's roughly from 1995 and onwards). There's Bergkamp of course, but as much as his highlight reel assists are a joy to watch, Özil was to my mind more consistent in that regard. Henry was an underrated passer, but still obviously more of a goalscorer. Cesc was a brilliant playmaker at his best. But the sheer consistency with which Özil delivered the final pass, always accurate, always perfectly weighted, was something special.

But there's now been basically two full seasons where he hasn't really produced anything noteworthy on the football pitch. And this season he's probably not going to play a single game if this keeps up. That's three wasted years, and he's not even that old; turning 32 next week. It's just such a waste.

Would that be a settlement like 40m + 1. The club are not known for financial astuteness. Pay the whole lot. Would love to know what they were willing to offer in after tax money. Anything the club says I would need to see the actual evidence before even thinking to accept it as fact. But there are plenty of people who will believe anything whether it relates to the club or COVID.

Yep. Singling out one match to try to score a killer point about a player's uselessness is - generally - the last refuge of the simpleton. TG is right, though, about Özil being dropped in recent squads. In which match he's played in the last 12 months have you thought, 'Now that's why we pay him 350,000 a week'? As for his political views, if he was still conjuring up 19 assists a season, I suspect Arteta wouldn't mind if he replaced the 'Visit Rwanda' logo with 'Erdogan Rules'.

Your post got me thinking about the ten most skilful players I’ve seen play for the club. Not the best tacklers (such as Adams), strongest in the air (possibly Radford), the quickest (like Henry), the most productive (including Vieira) or consistent (maybe Armstrong). But purely the most talented in terms of skill on the ball including control and passing ability.

Names that spring to mind immediately, in alphabetical order, are Arshavin, Bergkamp, Brady, Fabregas, George, Hudson, Marinello, Özil, Pires, Rocastle. Yet how do Ball and Limpar not get in? Or Henry, in my view the club’s greatest player? Sanchez, Wilshere, Cazorla and Nasri not quite there. Or Bentley. It’s all opinion anyway. I saw Hoddle and Gascoigne play for Arsenal in Merson’s testimonial but not competitively, otherwise they’d get in. Hoddle definitely.

Özil a better creative player than Bergkamp or Fabregas

No way

There's more to creativity than the final pass though. Both Bergkamp and Fabregas had qualities that Özil lacks, but if I'm strapped to an electric chair with my life depending on the result of a match and an Arsenal player is in a good position to score, I'd probably pick Özil to deliver the pass. There's not much in it, but his consistency in playing that final ball just right really was marvelous.

I'm reading a few reports that the 2 wingers we got after the close of the transfer window may be the steal of the window. Fingers crossed.

I'm curious as to know if Arteta's reason for not including Özil is he just doesn't fit into his system or its something else. I seem to recall (and my memory is fuzzy on this) that Arteta's didn't feel Özil was working hard in training. Arteta wants to see players train hard as an indicator of their committment to the cause. Maybe his unwillingness to track back and play enough defense.

Maybe its a combination thereof. Bur I find it hard to believe there isn't a place for Arteta. I find it hard to believe he can't fit into the system in some capacity.

To use an old fashioned term Old Man, he has been 'working his ticket' since 2018.

Sorry Haz. Everyone can have an opinion but that's just plain wrong.

If my entire life depended on someone making a through pass for a goal then Dennis Bergkamp is making that pass for me. Nobody else. Maybe Fabregas a distant distant second

Can't stop agreeing with you today, TG.

You don't have to apologize for disagreeing, but calling it plain wrong is nonsense. His assists record speaks for itself, before his performances dropped he was an absolute chance creating machine. Not saying he's in a class of his own compared to players like Bergkamp and Fabregas, but to pretend he's not even in the conversation is ridiculous.

I'm going out on a limb here but .....yes, I think I CAN say you are indeed plain wrong.

Why should they ? The moment they did that he would go to turkey and agree a contract to earn even more money. I bet they’ve made a substantial settlement offer of probably half his contract but if you are speaking to someone who is unable of compromise and not a pragmatist then they will get nowhere.

Özil is perfectly right to see out his contract no debate about that, Arsenal are definitely right to drop him out of every squad there’s no debate about that either but it’s telling about his motivation, professionalism and ultimately him as a person that he won’t even take a settlement

If the answer isn’t Bergkamp the person can’t have understood the question in the first place.

A rolls Royce of a player.

To expand ever so slightly, Haz I think the term 'assist' is misleading when comparing anyone to the legend that is DB10.

Many of Özil's assist came (past tense, note) from crosses, free kicks and corners. DB10's didn't.

Well if you want to play it that way, I never told you that you COULDN'T say something, did I?

Sure, there's areally strong case to make for Bergkamp on this subject, I've never pretended there isn't. He did a lot of things that Özil could only ever dream of. But on the flip side, there's a reason why Özil throughout his prime was responsible for corners and a certain type of free kicks, while Bergkamp wasn't. And it's not like every player who takes that amount of corners and free kicks rack up assists. His dead ball delivery is part of what made Özil such a good player to begin with.

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The Republicans are far, far better at politics because they have no choice. They will be made redundant if they aren't. They fight dirty when they have to which is most times. They could teach Sun Tzu or Machiavelli a thing or two. That said, The Lincoln Project, a group of Republican strategists and advisers to past presidents and high officials and are outraged at what Trump has done to their party, have been making brutal ads against him and any one who supports him. The ads are far better than anything the Democrats have come up with. The Democrats come to a no holds barred pub bust up in Toxteth, Liverpool using Marquis of Queensbury rules.

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My point is that crosses swung into crowded boxes, free kicks swung into crowded boxes and corners swung into crowded boxes account for a decent proportion of Özil's 'assists'. In this sense, the stats are misleading since in my opinion, they are of a lower value than a threaded pass, a through ball or a dink over the top. Now Özil certainly has produced all those in his time with us but they account for a much lower percentage of his 'assists'.

If you weight the relative skill levels of their 'assists', DB10 and Özil are not in the same league.

Walk into any pub, Arsenal or non Arsenal pub and lay that claim, they'd think you are taking the piss.
Bergkamp first and foremost. Fabregas second to Dennis only. Henry can make an argument for someone who knows how to give a final ball and should be counted among the best, but not the best.

I've seen enough clips of Brady to see why he's got deity status with people from that era.

Vieira intercepts and lays it off to Parlour or Pires who break and find bergkamp in the final third “woah how did he spot that pass!”

Over and over and over and over ......

Don't think people in general rate Bergkamp as highly as Arsenal fans do so I'm not sure about that claim, but nice to see you try to interact with other posters on the forum for a change.

Cazorla was exceptionally skilful. A player who can score free kicks with either foot is very rare indeed.

There are others who you would never dream of categorising as great (or in some cases good) players but nonetheless had exceptional natural skills. Kanu - sublime skills for such a big lanky man with huge feet. I don't think I've ever seen a player like him. Hleb - fabulous first touch and ability to create space but then spends far too long deliberating and ends up passing it backwards. Gervinho - absolutely brilliant dribbling ability and body feints and not a notion in the world how to use it....and he couldn't kick the ball properly which is just bizarre for a pro-footballer.

Then you have other players with a slightly different skill-set. Overmars, like Henry, could dribble at a fierce pace. Maintaining control of the ball at that pace is not too common. I just love natural footballers. Sadly, dribbling is disappearing from the game as everyone plays the Pep/Klopp pressing and gazillion passes.