I made the mistake of tweeting:
”
BTW, our best player is out injured.”
I meant Ozil and was immediately inundated with tweets telling me how stupid I was and how Sanchez is easily our best player .
Well? Is that a fact?
No it’s not a fact, it’s an opinion and not one I concur with. Not yet anyway.
Before we go any farther let me say I think our shiny new toy is an exceptional player, truly world class. And a good argument can be made to say he is indeed our best player.
I suppose it comes down to what you like in a player. What qualities you admire the most and to which you personally give most weight .
Alexis has some outstanding qualities. Pace, fight, determination, bravery, composure, and work rate to name just some. But is he a complete player? He isn’t far off, but it’s far enough for me to still see Ozil as a better player.
I suppose it’s the same as when people tell me Henry is Arsenal’s greatest ever player. Because for me that would be Dennis Bergkamp, by a country mile, and then some.
Football is a team game. It’s played by individuals, but if they don’t play for each other the whole will always be less than the sum of the parts.
Bergkamp and Ozil are first and foremost team players. Individual glory does not come into their thinking or play. The right pass is played at the right time with the team in mind. It’s no good having a 30 goal striker if 30 goals is all the team gets. It’s not about how far they run or how quickly they run there, it’s about what contribution the runs make to the team.
People bang on about Sanchez work rate without really understanding that there is more than one way to work on the field. If the runs a player is making are always in the direction of the ball, it stands out. If (like Mesut) the runs are made into space, less so.
We notice people making runs off the ball if they are attempting to get in behind, but do we really see a player just gliding into space?
Alexis is mostly running towards the ball, whether to ask to be given it, or to retrieve it because he has just lost it. We see that.
Ozil is running into space and often away from the ball, plus he hardly ever loses it , so doesn’t have to chase to get it back.
The reality is that Ozil will normally cover more ground in a game than Alexis. That is usually ignored.
The most effective teams are balanced teams. That’s what Mesut brings to the table. He has vision for others while generally Alexis has his own vision in mind. What he is going to do himself.
But as I say, balance in a team is the key. A team of Ozils would be no good, nor would a team of Alexis. Lucky for us we have both.
So, if you think Sanchez, Aaron, Jack or anyone else is our best player, fine. That’s up to you. But for now I will stick with Mesut, a man I see as the perfect team player.
Positively Arsenal 
I am glad to read this as it makes me feel less alone and marginally less curmudgeonly than normal. Of course Alexis is a fine player, and of course he brings much to the team: we are lucky to have him and what an inspirational signing by the manager he is. It has been interesting to see the way that his signing and his form have been portrayed as nothing to do with Arsene, but we should not forget that it was Wenger who identified him as just the sort of player the team needed. But Alexis’s beatification has irritated me precisely because it seeks to belittle the other players and the manager, which has had the strange effect of making me not like him as much as I perhaps should. Which is silly, because he has it within him to be really good, and I am sure that should he ever play regularly with Ramsey, Wilshere, Ozil and Walcott he could easily become truly great.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Tim, our foreverheady, just expressed the thoughts I ‘ve been having in a way I could hardly express. The usual pundits and so many of our fans predictably beatify the goalscorer, the roadrunner who relentlessly scurries after the ball, at the expense of team. This you expect from the commercial media who needs a mythical hero whose glow will draw attention to them; sell newspapers, drive viewership on tv, multiply clicks on the internet. But you would expect a little pause from our adult fans but too many of them follow the same template. As recent as last year, Suarez was the fully developed phenomena as Sanchez is now morphing. Suarez gained all the notoriety while LIverpool leaked goals like a sieve inevitably falling short of a title. Moreover Suarez jumping ship to a bigger team has left the scousers and Brendan Rogers in particular looking like frauds, an empty vessel, all form and no substance.
Thanks George for your audacity in taking this isue head-on. Thank heavens you are no stranger to controversy.
LikeLiked by 2 people
george, i might have agreed with you if this was posted two weeks ago when alexis was still being played on the wing. but the last two games have changed the picture a bit. this fact was even acknowledged by wenger. he is now finding his teammates more and quicker than before. this i expect to improve in future, with better understanding of his new role. this might also not be a good news for mesut and those who want arsene to play him through the middle. as things stand now the only spot yet available for grab is the left wing where mesut was deployed before his injury.
wenger has always spoken of importance of team work in our style and it seems he has finally found a way to make alexis a better team player. let me also add that i will so much appreciate it if mesut can also work on his work rate. it will do him and the team a lot of good. in big games you need all your players to put in their best especially when you dont have the ball.
LikeLike
Layksite. You make two assumptions I have to take you up on.
First,perhaps Alexis is getting in the rhythm of our game and would be finding his team mate no matter where he played?
And Mesut runs farther than him in a game, so why you think he should work on his work rate is odd? Do you mean you want him to chase the ball like a schoolboy in the playground, change his game,the game that has made him the best No10 in world football?
LikeLiked by 2 people
It is quite an interesting question, Alexis vs Mesut.
The point you make is a good one. However, the thing that makes me like Alexis more than Mesut is that desire and leadership that seems to be having a knock on effect for the team and the opposition. But that just makes me like the player. All passion and power and work rate and desire, all the nice tangible stuff I can see on my TV screen.
Mesut does alot we do not see in TV land. I have read reports from those more knowledgeable that he does alot off the ball and there is alot to that which I probably don’t understand half as well as I should like.
In the end I would say two very different players and characters and call it a tie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad to see this article.
I find it difficult to get into the “Who’s the best player” debate, simply because the subject seems to arise merely to slag off other players. Even Keown, speaking on MOTD, said something like – What would Arsenal do without him – adding to the ‘one man band’ crap that’s spouted around – until whichever player has a bad game or is injured, then that player is useless/waste of money/get Wenger out, et al.
I find myself re-watching games just to see what all the “inferior” Arsenal players were doing. I’ve yet to re-watch Saturday’s match but I’m looking forward to checking all who played. i.e. – the TEAM!
The comments above this one are so good, there’s nowt more for me to say.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely article well written.
Ozil is clearly the most intelligent player in our team and the write up is spot on. Opinions maybe divided but one Ozil alone is not enough as Sanchez brings leadership as well into our game. Welbeck for me is an unintelligent hard working.. striker .. no an unintelligent forward is more apt, my opinion.
But, the puppet show is as good as puppeteer. Wenger should protect Ozil by playing him in central role and bringing in CDM to do defensive duties rather than expecting Ozil to do so when clearly his skill set is different. Else I feel Ozil will not get due respect and eventually leave us.
In short both players deserve credit for energizing our team in their own way and as fans we need to show some intelligence in our comments.
LikeLike
Nice one George.
As you know I like fast players. And Alexis had been called Electric Sanchez before he had even arrived at Arsenal. So I was a little excited by his arrival. And being a self-declared expert on pace in football last season I noticed that Özil was not slow. He is a stealth machine, seductive with his running. With all fast players out of the squad at one stage, no Walcott, Chamberlain, Gnabry and at one stage not even a Podolski to play wide, the team relied upon Özil going wide when holding on to a goal lead. Özil’s selfless running is was a major reason behind Arsenal’s spell at the top last year. He plays where required. He is simply a team player, a very selfless player.
And Özil probably needed a little breather after that first season in the PL and the WC run to the final, so maybe this injury did not come at the worst time? It’s a blow but he’ll be fresh for the second half of the season? It’s up to Wilshere and others in the squad to make the most of the opportunity to get some minutes in the meantime.
And it’s kind of the same with the formation. It’s the same basic 451/433 type morphing animal that we’ve seen for ages. Some games it looks like a 4141, sometimes it looks like a 4411, or as described on the weekend a 442, depending on who is on the pitch, and all the other stuff. I would say the selections usually would determine the variations, but there are changes game to game too. If you use the 451 to 433 understanding as a skeleton set up to hang your hat on, then you can use that to follow the other shifts such as the No.10 shuffling up a fraction to play as what people are suddenly describing as the second striker, which is something Özil did on occasion too last year (even played CF for Germany last September when even Podsolski was out injured), and others before him. Not forgetting the recent game at Villa! It’s nothing new. What was slightly new last year was the brief sight of Walcott joking the striker from his wide area for longer spells during his games last year, so I thought. Harder work for the Arsenal RB, but also for the opposition. Sometimes we would see Walcott and Giroud almost playing as a two which is similar to what we saw with Walcott and Van Persie.
Similar to some comments on Özil a friend said that in the past that Walcott hasn’t been selfish enough. I understood his thought, it wasn’t the wrong thought about a player who wants to be a goalscorer, but we have to consider that someone had to be supplying all those assists to first RVP and then to Giroud.
I have read a light hearted description of the Arsenal formation has a modern interpretation of the old WM stuff, which I don’t know much about. Some think that AW has gone for the Full Chapman? It’s an interesting thought. What is undeniable is that both the recent Gazprom and the Abu Dhabi formations look eerily similar to the stuff we saw Arsenal try out back in ’08, with some variations here and there. Of course, having Nasri, Clichy and Sagna on the bench (hehehe) and others elsewhere probably explains partially why that has occurred, I mean they must have bought all those players for a reason…? (Almost all of those players we branded not good enough by the AAAA whilst at AFC at one stage or another) And also as we all know all the good managers all copy each other to a degree anyway, so…
I wonder when the Groaners will work out the similarities?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just one word: thank you for the article. Spot on! Am a big fan of Mesut and you said it all. Oh, another word: listen to what Mourinho said about Mesut during the WC. Love Mou or not, he said perfect things!
LikeLike
goerge, the best no 10 in the world a while at madrid. the best no 10 in a club that can afford to spend millions on players whose duty is just to win the ball back. mesut is a great player but he has to prove it here at arsenal. dont forget that sanchez was not so great at barca that was the reason we got him that cheap. but people are talking about him because he is doing something right. i will argue that sanchez is a better player here than he was at barca. and it will be wrong to judge him by his performance in spain. just as it will be wrong to judge cesc by his performace in spain. same goes for mesut.
there is also a little different between the best players and important players. the world over, best players are chosen based on their individual display while important players may not necessarily be the best. so i agree that ozil is important to the way we play ut i dont agree that he is better than alexis or ramsey in terms of individual effort as far as arsenal players are concerned.
LikeLike
how is chasing a player back to retrieve the ball back schoolboy george? i like to see players do it like ramsey and alexis.
LikeLike
Amendment:
< He is a stealth machine, seductive with his running. Arteta described Sanchez as carrying his knife between his teeth. A bad hombre as described elsewhere. Özil does not carry his knife between his teeth, his victims only realise when they return to their hotels that they are missing a wallet/purse/belt. Usually a second viewing of the CCTV footage is required before they can appreciate all that was going on.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Initially, I find such comparisons difficult to make. Both players are world class but quite different. I imagine that people have their own criteria for making distinctions based on certain values, conscious and sub-conscious, that are important to them. I suppose I’m suggesting that we cannot be absolutely objective.
I disagree with all the less-than-positive assessments of Özil, I see him much in the same light as PG. However, I cannot get myself to elevate one player over another, they are really quite different. An interesting assessment of Mesut is made in the last @arsenalpodcast
https://t.co/t8FKb2P5JH
I was rather surprised that Paddy Barclay, one of the best pundits around IMHO, sees Mesut as a misfit! (Adrian Clarke demonstrates again that he is a really very good analyst again IMHO).
LikeLike
Layksite
As I said the other day, Sanchez scored the goal that should’ve won Bunga Bunga the La Liga title last year. And that’s probably closer then they will get this year and maybe for a while? Many Barcelona fans were sad to see him go. Any who weren’t are idiots IMO.
He’s not a better player here. He’s come to the Arsenal because the gaffer promised him an environment free of the hierarchical bollocks he experienced at Barca, which is exactly the same promise that was given to Özil!
LikeLike
Ozil better at distribution.
Alexis better finisher
Different players, same team.
I’m more curious about those yet to contribute for various reasons.
TR, JC, AD, TW, SG, to name a few.
This team is pretty darn scary, on paper.
Alexis is showing what was expected of him, as he did in Brazil, Barca,Chile, Udinese..
CC has also made his mark.
I await the others.
Hello PG…hello positivistas
LikeLiked by 2 people
on the other hand, arsenal is not a one man team. unlike liverpool last season, we didnt try to replace a player with alexis but strenghten the team. at liverpool, suares was more that a part but the part. he made a finished player like gerrard looked so good that some idiots voted him above yaya toure. most of his 85% of his goals were penalties won by suares and his assist were from corner kicks and set plays won by suares. remember how players like sturridge, henderson and raheem sterling were hyped so much that they were picked for the world cup witout a second check. just look at liverpool now, who do they need? they need that selfless, committed warrior called suares.
but at arsenal, the players we have are players who will even bring out the best in alexis. welbz is doing just that at the moment. but when ozil, giroud and walcott are fully back, they will make him even a better player.
LikeLiked by 1 person
finsbury, is messi a better player for barca that he is for argentina? is neymer a better player for brazil than he is for barca? i think so. what do you think?
LikeLike
I feel that Mesut Ozil hasnt been fully unleashed at Arsenal yet. I feel that all he can do with this team is waiting to burst out. I really hope that happens and would really be sad if his career didnt flourish at Arsenal.
Like some, I have some reluctance in appreciating Alexis. This is because, I do not want his play to be good at Arsenal’s expense. I also dont want the focus to be solely on him and the team to come to rely on him like we did on Judas. There was a moment in the last match where a player got he ball from Alexis and even though there were better (seemingly) options, passed it back to Alexis and the whole team just became static waiting for Alexis to do something.
Alexis is incredibly good and is on fire now. If everyone gets to that level and plays an equal role in the team with their different skill sets, no one will want to play against us.
LikeLike
The same stupid argument was aimed at Arshavin” he’s lazy and doesn’t track back” He didn’t track back, he left that to a track back type of player and moved into a position to do damage next time we had the ball.
LikeLike
we are a better team this season. we can still get even better. the spirit of alexis can influece others to put in their best. rather than depend too much on him, i see him challenging the beast in all of them. like i was impressed with ox against burnley. his all action game nearly resulted in one or two goals had cazorla been more clinical. i dont know for some here, but for a change i like the fact that we have a player who is fighting it out with others in the league of best players. maybe it will soon begin to influence decision in our favour.
LikeLike
george, between a striker and a midfielder who do you think is required to track back the more?
LikeLike
That would depend on the system ,in a 442 a MF would track back, but Mesut never plays in a system that he is not either a wide forward or No10 .
LikeLike
alexis is a striker, his ability to track back while still performing his duty of goal scoring should be viewed in a positive light. earlier in the season, his style was distrupting our fluid football so much so that i felt we were better in the games wenger benched him. but his new role in the middle behind welbeck has seen him developed more into a team player. though it’s just two games in the middle but rather than being pessimistic about his ability in that role, i’m hoping he will get better there with more understanding.
i want mesut to become a more complete player here at arsenal than he was at madrid. at madrid, he was the best no 10 but i want him to become the best midfield player. not just the player who supplies the goals for giroud, alexis or welbeck to score but a player who helps to cover the weakness of arteta while still performing his duty as the brain of the team. he can do it if he wants to because he is a great player.
LikeLike
Layksite @ 1.42
I don’t know! What I do know is that I’ve always preferred Sanchez to Messi, Neymar and yes Suarez. Not because he is better or worse, but because he doesn’t dive all over the place. Don’t worry, if he dives against Gazprom and wins a pelanty (ha. ha. ha.) I’ll be the first to applaud.
LikeLike
Steady, Arteta has one weakness-his age.
LikeLike
If we are talking pure speed he is probably quicker then the other two…no contest for me then!
LikeLike
They’re both awesome and they are both with us. Case closed, as far as I’m concerned.
LikeLiked by 2 people
gains, this is just fun. for a change we are having world class players in our hands. and we can keep thisplace lively by playing with the toys wenger has decided to spoil us with.
fins, speed yes. commitment at per with suarez. never a diver, at per with messi. power play, peerless!
LikeLike
I still think Mikel is the most important player in the squad.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I see so much of myself in Alexis, great footballing talent with both feet and his head, imagination and the ability to find that extra yard, boundless energy, a natural leader, a player who never gives up.
Yes it is difficult not to really like
meSanchezLikeLiked by 5 people
And then again that superb economy of talent that is Mesut – the ball caressed and stroked, the pass weighted, the destination chosen by a player who is three moves ahead in the chessboard of PL football, how very much that reminds me of me when I strode like a colossus about the pitch as a youngster.
An impossible choice, even for me.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Mind you when I saw the original tweet I wondered about Laurent Koscielny George
Now there is a man who has everything to be the best defender of his generation, speed, height, the intelligence to read the game, the quality to control the ball, pass, shoot, head, and an unflappable character.
And at just past his 29th birthday he is reaching his peak.
When I look at the talentless hoofers that masquerade as defenders at Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern I am astonished that the player is still with us.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Good thoughts, George. I especially like part about how Ozil does things that are important but less noticeable. Excellent point. Stats don’t catch everything, that’s for sure. There is no stat for moving into a space to open up space for an easier shot on goal etc.
I read a comment recently. A guy saying that Sanchez is by far the best player on the team. Comments like do my head in. People look at our early season struggles without even realizing that Sanchez was a part of the problem. He looked better on Saturday (as did the whole team), because he is understanding the system better. It was an excellent team win and far from being down to Sanchez alone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
First of all, no contest… Dennis B remains my favourite all time player in Arsenal… so we firmly agree on that… Our best…
I think Alexis is our best player so far this season; maybe cos Ozil is out injured and has played less than him including the delay to return due to the world cup… Overall best player, i would pick Mesut, Giraud and even Ramsey ahead of him… All of whom are having to return to the team at varying stages due to varying injury issues… Even Walcott springs to mind as i write this… I think people in their normal, immediate reaction are likely referring to last 7 to 10 games!
LikeLike
With that being said, Monreal is the player that has Impressed me the most, so far.
LikeLiked by 2 people
@ paul N exactly.. typically few understand that AW’s teams need to play a few games together to produce the fluency they long to see… there are actually 3 new players at least in the team plus even Nacho playing in CD…
Sanchez was actually in the earlier season struggles!
LikeLike
thanks andrew… due to injury again i have even forgotten Kos! Imagine that… we do have may nest players… glad the team is gelling fine
LikeLike
A man who goes about his business quietly and efficiently is Nacho – unspectacular but always ready
LikeLiked by 3 people
That’s it, TS.
LikeLike
A very interesting Post.
It had never occurred to me to compare and contrast Mesut and Sanchez, so galvanised by the Post I first did some head scratching, then went back to the Post and found the key to the question sitting there.
My initial reaction was that we were comparing apples and oranges. Those two players are quite different in their attributes, and you mentioned that when you later referred to the call for Arshavin to be something he was’nt, to whit he was not and never would be a ‘tracking back’ type of player – however hard he might have tried.
In the same way, Mesut is never going to be footballing gazelle, bounding about the pitch with the strength and energy possessed by Sanchez.
Equally, Sanchez will never be able to spot a pass with chess like acuity, in the way that Ozil can, nor can he execute such passes with the precision required.
You said in the Post;
— “A team of Ozils would be no good, nor would a team of Alexis. Lucky for us we have both.”
And there is the rub. We do not need to compare them and decide who is ‘best’.
In their respective positions they are both best, and as you say, we are very lucky to have both of them.
By the same token, of course, they would both be rubbish goalkeepers, I suspect. [Hmm, dare I hit you with a happy, smiley whatnot? No – house rules apply!]
LikeLiked by 1 person
we have kept just three clean sheet this season in the league, monreal help in keeping two. nacho is the man!
LikeLike
I was a bit perplexed by the fawning praise Alexis has been getting from the media and pundits, who are usually so keen to kick us. He’s been in brilliant form but not for that long – 4 or 5 games, I would say. Some Arsenal players need to be brilliant for 40 or 50 games to get half the attention, so what’s going on? Now it becomes clear, as Alexis’ performances are used as a stick to beat us with – “one man team”, “they’d be nowhere without him”, “they’re lucky he didn’t pick Liverpool”, etc. Instead of praise for making a terrific signing, at great value and getting such a high level of performance out of him so quickly, the whole thing has been given a negative spin. Conveniently ignoring the number of quality players missing from the side but also how Alexis himself contributed to our poor form while he was settling in. In every game he showed great ability but misplaced passes, holding onto the ball for too long and dribbling himself into dead ends were a regular occurrence which spoiled promising attacks. We aren’t used to having players like him, so direct and greedy (in a nice way) with the ball and I think it took a while for the other players to understand how best to work with him, and for Alexis to understand how to work with them. But it was completely worth it now that we reap the rewards of his rapid acclimatisation.
As for the Ozil x Alexis debate, I would say it’s highly subjective and also that the two players aren’t that chalk and cheese. I think Ozil’s willingness to work and scrap for his team are underrated, as are Alexis’ vision and playmaking, and best of all I believe them to be highly compatible.
LikeLiked by 2 people
And Monreal’s been brilliant of late. When I saw him at CB in pre-season I felt worried about the prospect of him filling in there in competitive games but he is beginning to look at home there. His aggression and anticipation against Burnley was fantastic, he was first to everything.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with HenryB. Very different and not very comparable. The best player is a subjective and not always clear or helpful category. What are you trying to measure? I love both and think there is absolutely no reason to be stinting in our praise of Sanchez. Ozil is out and can’t help us for some months, so it is a hopelessly theoretical exercise to talk about his contributions vs. Sanchez even if such an exercise made sense. What is clear is that Sanchez plays incredibly hard and is providing much needed goals. 7 of his 10 goals have broken 0-0 or 1-1 deadlocks. He has had a decisive influence on matches. That’s what great players do.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Leo S, when a player scores 10 goals in as few games as he has played, and usually to put your team in a winning position, that player is going to get lots of attention. Not very nefarious, I don’t think.
LikeLike
The weakness of his game is probably giving the ball away in some dangerous positions. But that’s a risk-reward issue that has been paying off so far.
LikeLike
The risk-reward that Arshavin got pelters for?
LG, you should read the post again . It was not about Ozil v Sanchez at all.
LikeLike
@Limestonegunner
It’s not that he’s getting attention but the way in which Arsenal are portrayed in response to his performances and goal contribution. Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa have scored more league goals than Alexis but I don’t see “one man team” comments about the clubs they play for. While Sanchez has scored 39% of our PL goals, Aguero has scored 50% of Man City’s PL goals. Diego Costa is at 35%.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“They’re both awesome and they are both with us. Case closed, as far as I’m concerned.”
Can’t wait to see them both on the pitch at the same time when they have got to grips with each other’s game.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I agree with that. Its a great debate but the fact that we can have it is amazing. Two world class players in our side (and that statement ignores alot of talent by the way) is something we have been missing for years apparently, although players are magically turned into world class when they sign for someone else. Anyway having been joyously smug about our current situation I totally understand Georges argument Mezut is the better player although Alexis may make the bigger impact. Their are players who have medals in their pocket who have them purely through hard work and perversely those with talent who have nothing.
LikeLike