Arsenal must play Santi Cazorla to keep getting the most out of Mesut Ozil
Arsenal has an identity crisis brewing, and squad selection appears to be at the heart of the emerging problem. Two wins and three draws after five rounds is a strong start for the London club in the Premier League, but Arsenal has not quite figured out how to integrate and utilize its top talents.
With a demoralizing loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and an early exit from the Capital One Cup, negativity is seeping into the Gunners’ young season.
Over the past couple years, manager Arsene Wenger has opened his wallet and splashed cash to attract the likes of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid and Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona. At the start of the 2014-15 campaign, the Gunners have been seemingly selecting teams based on finances, rather than team makeup and form.
Ozil is a world-class talent and a World Cup winner. However, save for one impressive performance against an Aston Villa side that was handicapped by severe illness, the German international has been about as invisible as Manchester United’s defense.
When asked to play out wide, the creative midfielder and his talents have altogether disappeared from games.
Contributing to Ozil’s slow start, Arsenal has focused on and featured $57 million signing Sanchez early in the season. Structurally, Sanchez has not forced Ozil out of position, but the Chilean’s style of play has not properly mixed with the German.
Sanchez’s dribbling talents are undeniable. He is a quality player. But Sanchez didn’t play when Ozil hit full stride against Villa. That was not a coincidence, and neither was Santi Cazorla’s involvement in that match.
Against Aston Villa, Cazorla strategically kept Ozil involved by looking to get the German touches early in the contest, and Ozil’s passing style of play helped lay the foundation for a master class passing performance that would earn Arsenal a 3-0 victory away from home. No coincidence, Sanchez did not see the pitch at Villa Park.
Sanchez has a habit of turning on the style and using his impressive individual dribbling skills. Although Sanchez regularly fights and makes something out of nothing, his individual skill often leaves his Gunners teammates, Ozil especially, uninvolved and spectating. Put simply, Sanchez has not had the opportunity to fully integrate into the squad and learn his teammates’ habits, movements and needs.
That does not mean that the former Barcelona and Udinese man will not be good for Arsenal. But at the moment, he is a talented individual still finding his way in a squad structurally built on passing and balanced teamwork.
Ozil’s goal against Villa involved a flurry of one-touch passing that put the German one-on-one with the keeper. In contrast, Sanchez’s goal in the League Cup loss to Southampton did not result from a passing move that involved numerous players dinking the ball around in telepathic fashion. He scored a wicked free-kick goal, one worth looking up.
Everything considered, Arsenal’s exit from the Capital One Cup should not have been a shock. The Gunners made 10 changes from the side that defeated Aston Villa 3-0 on the weekend, and even Abou Diaby earned a rare start. Further, Southampton is a Premier League team that is currently enjoying its status as second from the top after five rounds of league play.
Yes, the Saints are ahead of Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and, of course, Manchester United. All things considered, the loss to Saints should not cause Wenger and Arsenal to panic.
However, one cannot help but notice that the Gunners seem to play crisper team football with Cazorla on the pitch. During this young 2014-15 campaign, Cazorla has started only five matches across all competitions. Arsenal won three of those games and drew the other two. Without Cazorla in Arsenal’s first 11, the Gunners have lost two and drawn two. Arsenal has yet to record a victory without Cazorla in the starting lineup.
On Saturday, Arsenal will meet local rival Tottenham for another installment of the wildly energetic and entertaining North London derby. Although the pre-match focus expects to be on Ozil and Sanchez, Cazorla may be the most important Gunner of all.
Shahan Ahmed has covered the 2014 World Cup, 2013 Confederations Cup, English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Germany Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and Spanish La Liga for Yahoo! Sports. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA
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