Arsenal’s “frustrating” star may have just become their new Mesut Ozil

Arsenal made positive their draw with Fulham on Sunday afternoon was not the beginning of a poor run with a cushty win over AS Monaco within the Champions League final night time.

Mikel Arteta’s aspect weren’t at their absolute best, however a medical displaying from Bukayo Saka and a few skilled performances from a lot of the group noticed them decide up all three factors and all however assure their progress to the following spherical.

Nonetheless, whereas many of the Gunners’ group might pat themselves on the again for a job effectively executed, a number of flattered to deceive.

In actual fact, one of many gamers was so poor and has been for a while now that he might be turning into one other Mesut Ozil-esque state of affairs for the supervisor.

Mesut Ozil’s Arsenal profession

In terms of memorable Arsenal transfers over time, there are few, if any, that high Ozil’s transfer to the Emirates on deadline day 2013.

The German worldwide joined the membership from Spanish giants Actual Madrid for a membership report £42.4m and instantly hit the bottom operating, offering an help for Olivier Giroud in his first sport away to Sunderland.

Over the following few seasons, the “unbelievable” sensation, as dubbed by Ian Wright, proved to be price each penny as he wowed followers and rivals alike along with his mercurial capability to search out virtually anybody wherever on the pitch with a single chic go.

The previous Schalke gem racked up an excellent tally of 44 objectives and 75 assists in 254 appearances for the membership and performed a big position in three of the 4 FA Cup triumphs whereas he was in North London, however issues didn’t finish effectively.

After he signed a mammoth £350k-per-week contract in early 2018, his performances started to drop, and by the point Arteta was appointed supervisor in December 2019, it was clear that his lack of depth and energy off the ball meant he had no future in N5.

Nonetheless, attributable to his speedy decline and lofty wages, it was a nightmare to maneuver him on, and the membership ultimately needed to cancel his contract solely in order that he might transfer to Turkish giants Fenerbahçe.

In all, whereas Ozil was an arguably world-class expertise for a lot of his Arsenal profession, his type fell off a cliff within the later years, and he grew to become an extremely costly burden, which might be taking place to a participant within the squad right now.

The Arsenal participant who might be Arteta’s new Ozil

So, to get straight to the purpose, the participant in query is the extremely gifted Gabriel Jesus, and there are two key the reason why.

The primary is that, like Ozil, the previous Manchester Metropolis star hit the bottom operating following his £45m switch within the 22/23 season, racking up a powerful tally of 5 objectives and offering 5 assists in 16 league video games previous to the World Cup break, equating to a mean of a objective involvement each 1.6 video games.

Nonetheless, the Brazilian worldwide suffered a extreme knee damage in Qatar and needed to endure surgical procedure, which saved him out of motion till mid-March, after which he appeared notably much less nimble and customarily much less of a menace.

Final season wasn’t dreadful for the Sao Paulo-born ahead, however eight objectives and eight assists in 36 appearances was not sufficient to cease Kai Havertz from taking his place because the group’s beginning quantity 9, and based mostly on his performances this season, it would not appear like he is ever going to get it again.

In 19 appearances, the “irritating” striker, as dubbed by Micah Richards, has scored one objective and offered two assists.

Furthermore, final night time completely encapsulates why he is changing into a difficulty for the supervisor.

Whereas he offered the help for Saka’s opener, the 27-year-old was additionally extremely wasteful in entrance of objective, lacking two huge possibilities and taking simply 23 touches, which greater than justified the 5/10 match score he obtained from journalist Kaya Kaynak.

So, just like the German celebrity, Jesus has gone from a vital member of the primary group to somebody unable to meaningfully contribute in any respect, and on high of that, he additionally prices the membership a fortune, because of the big £265k-per-week contract he agreed to in 2022.

Lastly, it additionally looks like will probably be a severe problem to maneuver the previous Metropolis ace on in 2025, as his wages, damage historical past, and dreadful type don’t make him a fascinating proposition to the kind of golf equipment he’d be glad to affix.

Finally, Jesus is an undeniably proficient footballer, however like Ozil earlier than him, he is hit the tip of the highway at Arsenal, and at this level, it seems like the most suitable choice for all events can be to maneuver him on – if that’s even doable.