The aftermath of Germany’s disappointing elimination from the group stages of the World Cup has been ugly with a lot of it revolving around Ozil. The Arsenal playmaker has left national team football due to perceived racial discrimination.
What all this has done is to distract from the reality that Ozil has been on a downward spiral in the last couple of seasons.
A world-class playmaker, there were few sightings of that world-class talent in Arsenal and Germany colours last season. His numbers for the last two seasons: 12 goals and 19 assists in 59 Premier League games are below the standards expected of a world class player (though Arsene Wenger and Joachim Loew’s tactics did not help).
He has started the new season in the same fashion under new manager Unai Emery who has wasted no time in sidelining him when he underperformed against Chelsea.
With Emery’s emphasis on pressing and winning the ball back quickly, the 29-year-old former Real Madrid star knows he will have to work harder than he has ever done to get his starting place back.
Meanwhile, the 2017/2018 season was a rollercoaster for Alexis Sanchez. All through the summer of 2017, the news had been that Manchester City was going to sign Alexis from Arsenal following the Gunners’ failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
The deal didn’t go through due to Wenger’s refusal to countenance his prize asset, a situation which led to Alexis sulking and failing to deliver the same returns as he had done the previous season; 30 goals and 18 assists in 51 matches.
Given his contract situation (he was in his last year), it was assumed that the Gunners would have to accept Manchester City’s bid in January to avoid losing such a brilliant player on a free transfer. However, Jose Mourinho and Manchester United offered Alexis and his agent more money than was being offered by Pep Guardiola and the Cityzens and the rest, as they say, is history.
His first 5 months at Old Trafford were a washout as he struggled for form and consistency and never came close to playing up to his full potential getting 3 goals and 5 assists in 18 games. It is expected that the 29-year-old would be unleashed fully this season after a long summer break (as Chile failed to qualify for the Mundial).
It has not been an auspicious start with the Red Devils in crisis mode after two defeats in 3 Premier League games and Alexis yet to register a goal or an assist in two games.