Borussia Dortmund was disappointing to say the least. They suffered a 2-0 defeat, although it could quite easily been a lot worse. Their star striker, Danny Welbeck, failed to score, despite numerous opportunities to do so, and they don’t seem to be learning from previous games. Mesut Özil has endured a lot of criticism in England already, but following Arsenal’s poor performance in Dortmund, he was singled out for a lot of the post-game criticism. German newspaper, Bild, gave him

Was Record Signing Mesut Özil a Colossal Mistake?

The premier league is littered with players signed for record deals, players who crashed and burned on a wave of disappointment. Mesut Özil is hardly the first, and he definitely won’t be the last, but has Arsène Wenger made a terrible mistake signing the German from Real Madrid, or can he make his star player work?

Crushed Dreams

Mesut Özil is not the first player to arrive at Arsenal in a fanfare of glorious promise. Andrey Arshavin followed a similar course. He too was signed with the expectation of great things, but it wasn’t long before he found himself sidelined, dropped, and eventually left out of the squad altogether. This is not a place a world class player ever wants to end up in so it’s hardly surprising that Arshavin later described the experience as crushing.

A Disappointing Performance against Borussia Dortmund

Arsenal’s recent Champion’s League performance against Borussia Dortmund was disappointing to say the least. They suffered a 2-0 defeat, although it could quite easily been a lot worse. Their star striker, Danny Welbeck, failed to score, despite numerous opportunities to do so, and they don’t seem to be learning from previous games.

Mesut Özil has endured a lot of criticism in England already, but following Arsenal’s poor performance in Dortmund, he was singled out for a lot of the post-game criticism. German newspaper, Bild, gave him the worst possible rating, citing the fact that he only won 17% of the tackles he made during the game against Borussia. Their ratings system puts star players who put in a world class performance at 1, with 6 being a player who doesn’t earn his money – or in other words, Mesut Özil.

Criticism from All Sides

Of course Mesut Özil’s wasn’t the only poor showing on the night. Several of his team mates, including Jack Wilshire and Aaron Ramsey, were also singled out for low ratings by Bild, whilst Borussia star players were awarded top marks all round for their efforts. But nevertheless, despite the criticism from all corners, Arsène Wenger has insisted that it’s completely unjustified:

“It’s a bit unfair because I believe that our offensive talents on Tuesday night [in Dortmund] were not in their best condition and they couldn’t express that talent. On the other hand it’s post-World Cup. He came back on 11 August. You know it takes a few months for them to get back to their best; that can happen. Many of the World Cup players don’t even play at the moment.”

Give the Boy a Chance!

Wenger has urged Arsenal fans to be supportive. He says they need to give Mesut Özil a bit more time. Whether or not Wenger’s faith in his talents are justified remains to be seen, but his future performances will certainly be scrutinised by fans over the coming few weeks. £42.5m is a lot of money to pay for a player, especially if he isn’t seen to be earning his keep. One thing is certain, if Mesut Özil doesn’t start making things happen for Arsenal, his future there as a premier sport footballer will be short lived.