At Arsenal he almost became the symbol of the death of the Wenger era, but Özil’s problem was that football changedThere is of course no connection, only chance correlation, in the fact the top three teams currently in Europe’s top three leagues are also the last three teams to get rid of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Arsenal, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund have all passed on Aubameyang, Dortmund quite a long time ago. And while this is simply coincidence, it might make sense at this stage in the striker’s career, and in a sport that is always seeking marginal gains, for his agent to start marketing him on this basis, punting him around top clubs, backed by hard data, on the basis that...
Arsène Wenger must despair at the inefficiency in the game, embodied by the German midfielder’s omissionThere’s been something strangely disconcerting about seeing Arsène Wenger back on our screens, promoting his new book. Almost every interviewer he has faced has tried to lure him into some sort of indelicacy. Come on Arsène, settle some scores. Shit-talk Mourinho. Shit-talk Arteta. Shit-talk the board. Give us the full-body contact. Yet by and large, Wenger has refused to dance. His book is restrained, measured, high on facts and light on gossip, and has thus inevitably been panned as a crushing disappointment. Occasionally, however – much like his teams – he can still produce a moment of pure transcendence.On Friday night, Wenger was a guest...
Özil’s refusal to leave north London leaves Mikel Arteta in a tough spot considering all signs point to the German being surplus to requirementsMesut Özil retains his unnatural gift for dominating Arsenal’s narrative. This may yet be the week when, in announcing the signing of Willian and confirming Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has signed his new contract, they take their first clear steps towards rebounding from a tormented season and showing their intent to progress under Mikel Arteta. But Özil’s most recent intervention, stating in an interview that he has no desire to depart, brought back into focus a long-standing and expensive problem that is no nearer to resolution.Arsenal already have a battle to master the optics given, for all the relief...
Sportsmen and women cannot and should not be censored. Sometimes, they are the changemakers we needSince I first found myself, as a high-profile footballer and England international, in the public eye one of the rules I have tried to live by is this: speak from a position of strength. I believe if a player speaks publicly, on any issue, while they are not performing well it will always enrage some fans and the power of their words will be lost. Supporters will think: “Focus on the pitch rather than on your pet cause.” Though some of the people Mesut Özil has angered by posting on social media about China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims won’t care particularly about his form, many...
The Real Madrid winger’s dream has turned into a nightmare and he finds himself in the same boat as Özil and SánchezIn his documentary State of Play, an examination of the current wellbeing of football aired on BT Sport last week, Michael Calvin was granted an audience with Gareth Bale. He put it to the Real Madrid winger that Rory McIlroy, in whose company Calvin had spent quality time while embedded with Europe’s 2018 Ryder Cup team at the invitation of their captain, Thomas Bjorn, had told him that when you reach a certain level as an athlete or sportsman you can no longer retain that joy you had as an innocent kid. “Have you found that?” he asked Bale.“Yeah,...