Ozil Not The Answer To Arsenal’s Problems, Says Carragher
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes there is little Mesut Ozil can do to improve upon Arsenal’s current predicaments.
Arsenal are enduring their worst start to a top flight season for 39 years without the former Germany international, who has been left out of their Premier League and Europa League squads.
Mikel Arteta’s men have slipped to 15th on the league table, having lost for the sixth time in 11 outings following Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspurs in the North London derby.
With the Gunners also struggling to score goals in the top flight, there have been calls for Ozil to be reinstated in the Arsenal set up to provide a creative spark.
Carragher, however, believes Ozil is past his prime, as the former Real Madrid playmaker’s influence had already started waning under Arsenal’s previous managers.
"I don't think the answer is bringing Ozil in," he said while discussing the Germany international with former Arsenal star and caretaker manager Freddie Ljungberg on Sky Sports.
"When three managers decide not to fully back him, I know you [Ljungberg] used him more than those managers did, but I think you had a situation where he came off and threw his gloves. Mikel Arteta doesn't use him, two managers, maybe three with [Ljungberg], are they all wrong, really?
"There's no doubt he's got quality, but we've spoken about Ozil so often over the last few years and I don't think he's the answer to fix Arsenal's problem. Why don't people pick him? There must be something.
"There might be talk about [Arteta] being under pressure now, or the situation he's in, I wouldn't even think about Mikel Arteta's position. I really like Arteta.
"There's a lot of nonsense around the cub. I think some of the signings have been a joke, in terms of bringing Willian in, [David] Luiz in, Cedric [Soares] in. There's Kia Joorabchian making signings at the club.
"Mikel Arteta brought in [Thomas] Partey and Gabriel, they look like Arsenal's two best players at this moment.
"They've had four managers and three CEOs since 2018, just stick with Arteta, but there's going to be a lot of pain for Arsenal."
