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 snug win over AS Monaco within the Champions League final night time.

Mikel Arteta’s aspect weren’t at their highest, however a scientific exhibiting from Bukayo Saka and a few skilled performances from a lot of the staff noticed them choose up all three factors and all however assure their progress to the following spherical.

Nevertheless, whereas a lot of the Gunners’ staff might pat themselves on the again for a job properly accomplished, a number of flattered to deceive.

In reality, 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 scenario for the supervisor.

Mesut Ozil’s Arsenal profession

In relation to memorable Arsenal transfers through the years, 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 club record £42.4m and instantly hit the bottom operating, providing an assist for Olivier Giroud in his first recreation away to Sunderland.

Over the following few seasons, the “implausible” sensation, as dubbed by Ian Wright, proved to be price each penny as he wowed followers and rivals alike together with his mercurial skill to seek out virtually anybody wherever on the pitch with a single elegant cross.

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

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.

Nevertheless, on account of his speedy decline and lofty wages, it was a nightmare to maneuver him on, and the membership finally needed to cancel his contract completely 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 kind fell off a cliff within the later years, and he turned an extremely costly burden, which might be taking place to a participant within the squad at this time.

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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 explanation why.

The primary is that, like Ozil, the previous Manchester Metropolis star hit the bottom operating following his £45m transfer within the 22/23 season, racking up a formidable tally of five goals and providing five assists in 16 league video games previous to the World Cup break, equating to a median of a aim involvement each 1.6 video games.

Nevertheless, the Brazilian worldwide suffered a extreme knee damage in Qatar and had to undergo surgery, 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 goals and eight assists in 36 appearances was not sufficient to cease Kai Havertz from taking his place because the staff’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 goal and provided two assists.

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

Whereas he supplied the help for Saka’s opener, the 27-year-old was additionally extremely wasteful in entrance of aim, missing two big chances and taking simply 23 touches, which greater than justified the 5/10 match rating he received from journalist Kaya Kaynak.

So, just like the German famous person, Jesus has gone from an important member of the primary staff to somebody unable to meaningfully contribute in any respect, and on high of that, he additionally prices the membership a fortune, thanks to the enormous £265k-per-week contract he agreed to in 2022.

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

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

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