It hasn’t taken long this season for Arsenal fans to get agitated. The culprit this season: formations. Specifically, a great many Arsenal supporters are up in arms over the positioning of Mesut Ozil. In all three starts so far in the Premiership, Ozil has started the match wide left in Arsenal’s new 4-1-4-1 formation.
Ozil arrived on deadline day in 2013 with much fanfare and was expected to do great things as Arsenal’s main playmaker in the middle. Since arriving at the Emirates he has shown flashes of the world class player he is, but has also struggled at times. The start to this season has been a constant struggle.
Maybe Ozil is still finding his way into match fitness and form following a busy summer and his post-World Cup break. Maybe he’s simply in a run of poor form as all players experience at times.
Many seem to think the problem is that he’s being played wide left instead of his favored (and natural) central attacking role. Others have criticized his effort, saying he appears disinterested and doesn’t give the effort required of a top player. People see a player like Alexis Sanchez who appears to be running full speed the entire 90 minutes, always pressing the ball, fighting to recover after losing the ball, always moving, and they wonder why Ozil doesn’t do that.
One can almost divide Arsenal fans into two groups at the moment. The first group is the one that blames Wenger for playing him out of position. The second group is the one blaming Ozil for not trying hard enough.
Ozil’s positioning may indeed be a problem, but it shouldn’t have the impact that people seem to be suggesting it does, mostly because the idea that Ozil is being shunted to the left wing is a bit of a smokescreen. He may be starting games on the left, but he hasn’t stayed there much.
Here’s Ozil’s heatmaps and in his first three starts in the Premiership this season (From top left: vs Manchester City, Leicester and Everton):
Only in the Everton game, his first start of the year, did Ozil really stay on the left. Against Leicester and Manchester City, he spent significant time in the middle and right sides of the field.
Compare that with his positioning against Norwich, West Brom, and Newcastle in the final three matches of the Premier League season last year. (From top left: vs Norwich, West Brom, Newcastle)
Compared to the end of last year, Ozil actually appears to be on the ball MORE in the middle of the field this year than last. In each of the final three matches last year, Ozil lined up as the center of a midfield three behind a lone striker, yet spent the majority of his time in wide positions.
Heatmaps show where a player has touches on the ball, but to understand a player like Ozil requires actually watching him play and move when he’s OFF the ball. Ozil tends to drift when he’s not on the ball, looking for space then creating when he receives the ball in space. In his last year at Real Madrid he averaged only 37 passes per game and averaged 2.8 key passes per match. At Arsenal his passing numbers have increased, but his numbers at Madrid prove how important movement without the ball is to his game.
The problem with Ozil being deployed on the left isn’t what it does to Ozil. Or at least it shouldn’t be. Observing the way Ozil plays, appears to be moving centrally and even to the right as much if not more than playing on the left during the course of the game. For an in-form Ozil, this should create no problems for his playmaking.
The problem with Ozil being deployed on the left is what it does to Arsenal’s team shape. If Ozil starts on the left then he is certain to drift. That requires other players to cover the spaces that he vacates, especially when Arsenal are defending. Against Manchester City there were times when Ozil and Alexis switched sides, so the space was covered. However, at other times Ozil simply drifted and nobody moved to fill that space.
Offensively this can create chances, as it allows Arsenal to overload the middle of the pitch and create a numbers advantage. However, when Arsenal turn the ball over it causes problems.
To make the most of a player like Mesut Ozil he needs to have the freedom to roam the field, but there must be cover when he does that. Pushing Kieran Gibbs or Nacho Monreal forward from LB to overlap is not sufficient as it leaves Arsenal further exposed at the back.
Perhaps as the team learns to play in the new 4-1-4-1 they will learn when they need to cover the space Ozil leaves when he drifts. However as Ozil himself has said he prefers to play centrally in the number 10 role (or on the right) Arsenal would probably be better off starting him centrally.
Footballers are at the best when they are playing confidently and freely. Especially for a player going through a rough patch, a move back to a more natural position could be what Ozil needs to return to form.
While some may argue for benching Ozil, the reality is that for Arsenal to succeed they need Ozil to succeed. Maybe a game off would do him good, but sooner or later Arsenal need Ozil to find his footing, and Arsenal fans can only hope it’s sooner rather than later.
