The Situation:
It doesn’t get much bigger than a Champions League quarter final tie with Bayern Munich. Such a situation presented itself on Wednesday as the North London Gunners played host to Bayern Munich. Things began well for Arsene’s crew as they took play to their opponents early. That was always going to be crucial: getting off early and showing their quality and not backing down from the German giants.
To Take a Penalty or Not to Take One
Of course, by now you know there was a penalty in the match, one which came early just seven minutes in. The penalty was awarded when German international Mesut Ozil was brought down by Jerome Boateng in the box. It was the exact start Arsenal needed, and fans were absolutely mental at the prospects of going up 1-0.
The Decision:
As the whispers went around the Emirates as to who would emerge as the candidate, while some may have selected the eventual taker, most probably would have looked elsewhere. It was Mesut Ozil who emerged, as he lined up a few yards from goal, waiting for the referee’s signal. Of course the penalty was poorly taken and was easily stopped by Manuel Neuer’s right glove. While many Gooners might have selected someone else, perhaps Santi Cazorla, to take the kick, was it a poor decision by Arsenal to have allowed the German the rights?
Our Verdict:
I don’t mind that Mesut Ozil took the penalty. In fact, fellow columnist Hugo Jennings defended the decision nicely by backing Ozil particularly because of his miss against Marseilles. For Jennings, the best players want the spotlight, not to hide in the shadows for someone else to emerge. Fair point. I like when players step up and show the confidence needed to score.
What is troubling for me, however, is Arsene Wenger’s response to the miss: “He missed a penalty. I prefer when people run properly at the ball. It’s his style of play, what can I say? We needed to score that penalty tonight.” Two things irk me about that statement. First, if you prefer when “people” run at the ball, then teach them to do it properly – Ozil’s still very young. If this is a flaw in the German’s game, have someone on staff work to correct that with him. And secondly, what does he mean “what can I say..”. He’s the bloody manager, he can say what he wants! If he felt he wasn’t up to the task, choose someone else.
Mesut Ozil is our most talented player on the pitch every game. Perhaps he’s going through some confidence issues at the moment and is not playing to his potential, but I believe it to be grossly unfair for some to criticise him they way they are. It’s often what players do off the ball that make them special.
Confidence is an important factor in football, and it seems Ozil is in short(er) supply these days. He has issued a statement of apology to fans: “the next morning doesn’t feel better either. sorry guys – it wasn’t planned that way. outnumbered it was really hard to win against this team. #ucl #AFCvBAY”. He has asked that Wenger continue to give him penalty chances. Again, I’m elated with him wanting to regain his confidence, but I think at least in the short-term we need to look elsewhere on the pitch. I feel for Mesut Ozil because I believe he is just so frustrated right now.
Two tweets come to mind that represent how I feel quite well:
@ThatGooner – “Do not discredit Özil – this is the toughest league in the world; the fixtures are compact and exhausting especially for a new player!”
@LastWordOnHugo – “Ozil is getting the same pathetic criticism that Pires, Henry, Bergkamp, Per, Kos, Theo, Ramsey and many more have got. Learn your lesson!”
Your Verdict:
We regularly pose the same question to our @AFCModiOperandi followers and include some replies in our articles – if you are interested in having your comments in our articles, follow our account and reply to our questions marked with #AFCMO. Here is what they had to say regarding the decision to have Ozil take the penalty:
@PeterWilliams78 – “easy target. His style looks effortless when things go well and without effort when things to badly.”
@onlyguy_izo – “his style of taking penalties + plus he had missed his last 3? He SHOULD not again take em“
@876arsenal – “Arteta would have put that away“
@AkJackson3 – “just remembered the one he missed in the champions league against Marseille and I wasn’t so confident…“
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