Yes Germany did that but also they had injury issues. But yeah that tactical flexibility exists. Instead of moving Ozil right, why not just finally get a proper 6+8 partnership and two proper wide players? For me there is no joined up thinking. Why move Ozil to fit in Ox? I would have gone for Drax and then the left sided issues are over and you have the protection and pressing you need. Then maybe get a super solid fullback so that bellerin can play as a winger?
and he had his best match of the tournament in the semifinals against France from the right. Because 3 players>2 players. Unless you have someone like Kante who can be 2 players, make it easier and get a 3rd MF in there. IMO, we should be aiming to get the best out of Xhaka because players like him win trophies. because its better for the team, and I don't think Ozil will lose his effectiveness on the right. Especially since we can now get him the ball in dangerous areas. PSG also plays 3 in CM and we will see if Draxler is good on the left long term. They have already alienated Di Maria by getting Draxler. Play Bellerin at RB and get a better attacking LB on the other side. The key is for us to get the best out of Xhaka, imo. We do that and we will see Ozil play to his peak too and our team will be more stable.
I agree in general that Ozil can do a job out there but he also has a lot of limitations as a wide player. It could work if Bellerin effectively played as a right winger like alves That's what I mean. Have a sold defensive left back. And then Bellerin is a much more attacking right back. well again I agree but is he the 6 or he 8? who is his partner? this all went on for years and is still nowhere near resolved
this is exactly what I am suggesting. Bellerin's best form came with Joel Campbell who allowed Bellerin to overlap him and played him balls with a lot of space. Ozil is a similar type of profile but obviously in another dimension. I want both our fullbacks to be attacking. For me, everything is about giving Xhaka the runners in front of him. Thats why we need another dynamic midfielder with Xhaka. Xhaka is a 6 and should be our deepest midfielder. His lack of speed hurts him higher up the pitch in the transitions. We should have two 8s in front of him. Ozil can be our 10, but it has to be out wide. We been imbalancing the team too long. Thats not Ozil's fault either, but Wenger not knowing any other way.
Ozil as a false 9. Sell Alexis, buy two wingers, and play a 4-3-3 with Ozil central and up front. I don't love the idea of Ozil out wide (even if I recognize that it works), because Ozil's vision and movement are so very good that playing centrally opens up possibilities on the left and the right. I also think it's fine to have fullbacks bombing forward, but don't want to have a system that relies on both fullbacks getting forward at once.
In an ideal world, I would rather we burn through hyper aggressive running full backs every 2-3 seasons and play a stable midfield, deepest to furthest up the pitch, Xhaka, Ox, Ramsey, Ozil, Iwobi, 2 strikers. I want 3 players this summer, 2 fullbacks, and a striker.
I guess the other thing I think about Ozil for Germany is he plays with Kroos, as well as guys like hummels and boateng So the quality and tactical nous is much more important than nominal positions
If you can, keep both Ozil & Sanchez and still run a 4-3-1-2 or 4-3-3 false 9. Play Ozil in the false 9 or CAM/SS role with Sanchez as one of the ST/W. Then buy a starting ST/W, LB & CM If you keep Giroud, when he comes in you shift your false 9 to a target 9 and either sub Ozil out, move him to the wing or shift your 3 man mid to a triangle with a high CAM. ST/W - Alexis, Welbeck, Walcott, Lucas, Campbell (if not sold), Iwobi, New Guy False 9/CAM/SS - Ozil, Lucas, Iwobi? Target 9 - Giroud, Welbeck CM - Xhaka, Ramsey, Wilshire (if re-signed), Coq, Ox, ElNeny, New Guy LB - Nacho, New Guy RB - Bellerin, Chambers? CB - Kos, Mustafi, Gabby (if not sold), Per, Chambers/Holding (other loaned) GK - Cech, Chez
With the personnel we have, I think 4-1-4-1 is worth another shot. Xhaka plays the deep role and put Ozil wide.
After the nice midfield performance of Ozil, Ramsey Xhaka in the weekend it is interesting to revisit how Wenger decided to rejig Ozil as a goal scoring forward in the first half of the season Strangely he did this right after Ozil turned out a record equaling assist season. 810827556735881216 is not a valid tweet id If you value a goal and assist as the same, this was baffling unless the real reason was Arsenal's lack of a decent 9 and the need to find goals somewhere Review the drop here: 855005234967568386 is not a valid tweet id And a reup of this fantastic analysis 821671023380664320 is not a valid tweet id All in all symptomatic of the tactical hot mess at Arsenal. Imagine if Arsenal couple simply sign a goal scoring 9
I think actually signing a goal scoring 9 is harder than it sounds: it's the most valuable commodity in football, and probably the second most valuable commodity in all of sports. Here are the established "9s" that have moved since 2010 and were good at the teams they moved to. as you can tell, it's not a long list. Suarez (twice, once when Arsenal couldn't afford him, and well, you know) Ibra Cavani Costa Lewa Mandzukic Higuain (twice - can disagree about whether to blame Wenger about what happened in 2013, but if we pulled the trigger on him, Ozil probably isn't at Arsenal) Judas Van Iscariot
That's not true though. At that point, we already had money to spend. Big transfers are paid over 3-4 years anyway. But I agree, world-class no.9s are very difficult to obtain because once they're established, they don't move. That's why it was such a shame we missed out on both Suarez and Higuain. Just look at how difficult it's been for Man Utd. They had to settle for a short-term solution in Ibra, and developing the likes of Rashford and Martial instead.
At some point, it isn't worth the bullshit. I don't blame him one bit. I've made peace with the fact the organization is never going to fix themselves and it no longer bothers me.