Is Ozil the next Arshavin?

#askaroundnow
When Mesut Ozil ignited Arsenal’s season back in September, questions were asked why no-one else – chiefly Manchester United – had not been bold enough to put up the £42.5million to sign the mercurial midfielder from Real Madrid.
Just five months on and the questions being asked about Arsenal’s record signing are rather different.
No longer Mesut the Messiah, there are fears that the struggling German international could turn out to be the new Andrey Arshavin.

Bad night: Ozil reacts after seeing his early penalty saved by Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (below)

Lost: Ozil has faded badly since making an impressive start for Arsenal when signed for £42.5million from Real Madrid in the summer

Against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night, Ozil looked a shadow of his old self, the contrast with his uber-confident compatriots only serving to highlight just how much he has faded during his short time in England.
Yes, he won Arsenal’s early penalty, drawing a careless foul from Jerome Boateng when he stepped inside the Bayern defender in the seventh minute. But the resulting spot-kick, placed aimlessly down the middle of Manuel Neuer’s goal with little power or purpose, enabled his childhood friend to flap the ball away to safety.
If there was one thing we thought we could rely on the Germans to do it was convert a penalty.

Not reliable: You might have expected a German to take a good penalty, but Ozil's kick was easily saved by Manuel Neuer

Old friends: A picture has emerged of Ozil (middle row, far right) and Neuer (in goalkeeper's kit) when they were at school

Lack of perspiration: Ozil's heat map from the match backs up Flamini's accusations

Ozil’s performance went downhill from there. He was switched to an unfamiliar role wide on the left after the sending-off of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny forced Arsene Wenger to shuffle his pack in a desperate attempt to stop the European champions effectively ending this tie after one leg for the second season in a row, and looked like a man who would rather be somewhere else.
At one point he became involved in an angry confrontation with teammate Mathieu Flamini who was furious that Ozil had once again failed to track Arjen Robben’s run into the box. It was about the only aggression that he showed all night. Afterwards Ozil trudged off the pitch without acknowledging the his own supporters.
That followed a public row with Germany teammate Per Mertesacker at Manchester City in December, and Flamini is not the only one who thinks that Ozil isn’t pulling his weight with some Arsenal fans accusing him of being lazy.

Flashpoint: Mesut Ozil was sternly rebuked by teammate Mathieu Flamini during the second half of Arsenal's 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night

Angry: The flashpoint started when Ozil (bottom right) pointed an accusing finger at defender Laurent Koscielny (wiping his brow), leading to a rebuke from Mathieu Flamini

Rage: Flamini tears into Ozil, apparently accusing him of failing to track back and help out the defence

Argy-bargy: Flamini and Ozil engage in some pushing and shoving, continuing their angry exchange of words

Critical: Mesut Ozil was shouted at by his teammate and German compatriot Per Mertesacker after not applauding the travelling Arsenal fans after defeat at Manchester City back in December

Respected French publication L’Equipe gave him a mark of 2/10 and one look at the statistics tells you why. Ozil gave away the ball more times than any Arsenal player (14) on a night when keeping possession was key against Pep Guardiola’s side. He made no tackles.
He also passed the ball 26 times, 20 of which were accurate. The imperious Toni Kroos completed 147 of his 152 passes which is some difference even when you take Bayern’s numerical advantage and far greater possession into consideration.
It has certainly been quite a fall from grace. Comparisons with Arshavin might be a little unfair at this stage, but there are worrying parallels between the two record signings who arrived late in the transfer window to great fanfare.

 

Parallels: Some fans are comparing Ozil with Andrey Arshavin, another player who arrived at Arsenal late in the transfer window for an expensive sum but didn't live up to expectations

In Arshavin’s case it was a £15million move from Zenit St Petersburg in February 2009. He too made his debut against Sunderland but it was the four goals he scored in a 4-4 draw with Liverpool in April of that year, terrorising Rafael Benitez’s defence, that really raised expectations.
The Russian was named Player of the Month and also came second in Arsenal’s Player of the Season poll despite playing a quarter of their games.
It all turned sour, of course. The swagger had left Arshavin long before he was booed by his own supporters when he replaced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in a home game against Manchester United in January 2012, and there followed a loan move back to Zenit which became permanent when Arsenal cut their losses and released him last summer.

Costly error? Arsene Wenger is facing another test of his judgement in the transfer market after Ozil's poor form

Ozil walked through the door not long afterwards and it looked to be a masterstroke by Wenger when the new arrival had an instant impact on Arsenal from the moment he set up a goal for Olivier Giroud just 11 minutes into his debut at the Stadium of Light.
Ozil also managed to chip in with five goals himself in his first 18 games, but the last of them came in a 1-1 draw with Everton at the Emirates on December 8.  
That seems like a long time ago now. The honeymoon period is well and truly over and Ozil needs to work on his relationship with Arsenal and their fans or it could all go horribly wrong. Just ask Andrey Arshavin.