Should Mesut Ozil be a regular for Arsenal?

Mesut Ozil has been out of favour at Arsenal since the arrival of Unai Emery, starting just fourteen of the sides’ twenty-six outings in the Premier League thus far and playing a full ninety minutes only once in the Gunner’s last six fixtures.

This campaign is set to be statistically his worst in terms of goals and assists since arriving in England from Real Madrid in 2013, with the German notching three goals and one assist up to now, five goal involvements behind his second worst season in 2014/2015, in which he racked up four goals and five assists.

His lack of game time is unexpected with the 30-year-old signing a new contract last year, and has created a debate as to whether Ozil deserves his place in the team or if he simply does not fit in anymore, the latter of which seems most likely as he has made only two starts in all competitions since Boxing Day.

After Arsenal’s elimination of BATE Borisov from the Last 32 of the Europa League, the manager was questioned on Ozil’s display and what he would like to see in the future from the World Cup winner of 2014, with Emery providing some interesting quotes.

“Today he showed what he wants” said the successor to Arsene Wenger. “If he is available, like the last two weeks, we are going to play a lot of matches and maybe sometimes we need him in the starting eleven and sometimes on the bench because we have a lot of players to also help us.”

Emery then went on to say that playing Ozil was “important and positive”, while teammate Alex Iwobi gave the highest of praise, labelling the former Real Madrid man as “world-class” and that he hopes Ozil will continue to feature in the side, adding, “We scored three goals as a result of him playing. I know if I make a run he has the vision to find me. Hopefully he can keep on playing.”

While the Arsenal boss failed to guarantee Ozil’s position in the starting line up for future games, his comments will surely motivate his creative midfielder to show more heart and desire in playing for the club.

In football, not many things are handed to you on a plate, not least starting positions for one of the best-known teams on the planet. It would be a huge surprise if Ozil believes he deserves to start each game based on his past successes.

Having said that, his quality is undeniable, though without confidence most players are just half of what they could be, with Ozil likely in that boat. The only true remedy for that is to play first team football and receive opportunities to recapture form from yesteryear.

Arsenal’s number ten put in a display against BATE Borisov that showed what he is capable of and despite the opposition not being of the highest standard, it is a step in the right direction in the eyes of most associated with the club.

In order to deserve his spot in the team he will be required to outshine players such as Aaron Ramsey, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Denis Suarez on a consistent basis, both in training and on matchday, until he can prove himself again, he does not deserve anything.