More Than Meets the Eye

It was a very impressive 4-0 win yesterday lead by an energetic, goal-hungry group of youngsters! Hats off to Gabriel Martinelli for another terrific performance. When given a change to perform he sure has a nose for goal. Congratulations to the entire squad for a great job and securing those group stage points!

Since yesterday’s Europa League win has already been covered by many other publications, let’s get into an area that needs further exploration.

The big question…what is going on between Unai Emery and Mesut Ozil?

The following quotes are taken from Emery’s postgame press conference…

Why Ozil wasn’t included in the matchday squad? “I am thinking every time to decide the best players for each match and the best players in the squad to play and to help us. When I decided he shouldn’t be in the squad it’s because I think other players deserved it more.” 

What does Ozil have to do to get back in the squad?
“He needs to continue working. Tomorrow we have training with the players who didn’t play, and on Sunday we have another match, and we are going to decide the same. Our target is to win on Sunday against Bournemouth, and we want to carry on our same way in each match.” 

What exactly does this mean? Is Ozil slacking off in training sessions? Does he not follow Emery’s instructions, does he smell bad? There has to be more than meets the eye here. When an elite member of your club doesn’t even make the bench…I mean come on. Is he keeping him on the bench to avoid injury so he can be auctioned off in January, or is it that the German just doesn’t fit our manager’s system and style of play? Can we just get an answer? This is so very strange.

Now I know I’m in the minority about yesterday’s starting XI. Yes, the youngsters did awesome, and yes they need to play. HOWEVER, we are at a point in the season when our core group needs to find a rhythm. Frankly, they just need more playing time together as a unit in real game time situations. I’m a firm believer that until you find the right mix keep your main guys on the pitch. If needed give them more rest and less training between games, but keep them on the field together so they can come together a unit.

Quick stats: After 10 games…2016 – 23 points / 2017 – 22 points 2018 – 24 points / 2019 – 21 points

Now stats are stats and you can read them multiple ways, however, as I look at these numbers it seems we might not be making the progress we had hoped under Emery.

I’ll be taking a few days off, so COYG beat Bournemouth on Sunday and stay alive in the the Top 4!

Cheers. Gunner 1953