Arsenal picked up their first win of the season on Saturday in the Premier League. The Gunners came from behind to beat West Ham United 3-1.
Away from the scoreline, the big talking point was the absence of Mesut Ozil from the Arsenal matchday squad.
Ozil’s absence was a major surprise. It didn’t take long for claims to emerge of an apparent fallout between the German and his new manager.
According to the rumours, Ozil had thrown a strop after being told Emery was ready to bench him.
For the record, Emery told the press that Ozil missed the West Ham game through illness.
The Ozil situation may be a little more complicated. Working on the assumption that Ozil was indeed ill, Emery still hinted at an issue with Ozil. As reported in the broadsheet:
Then came one more question and what felt like a telling reply. Emery was asked: “When you spoke to him [Ozil] on Thursday about what you wanted to see from him [against West Ham], did you plan to play him in a different position?” With a broad grin he said: “Maybe.”
Sometimes less really is more and from that one-word answer and accompanying gesture came the definite sense that for all of Emery’s insistence otherwise there is tension between him and Ozil and that, for the latter, breaking point was reached when he was told he would not be lining up as Arsenal’s principal playmaker – a No 10 in the No 10 role – in a game of genuine importance for Arsenal.
It’s worth noting that, according to the official Arsenal line, Ozil has missed six matches since December 2016 through illness. That’s a helluva lot of football for a player to miss without something larger being at play.
Further, it’s worth remember that against Man City in week one of the season, Ozil was stationed on Arsenal’s right wing rather than in a central role.