Arsenal's Mesut Ozil stand-off is pathetic - and the worst thing is they could use him

Seven months ago, when coronavirus hadn't shut the country down, a packed Emirates Stadium rose in unison as Mesut Ozil bounded towards the West Ham goal. In typical fashion, he turned down the chance to score himself, giving Alexandre Lacazette a tap-in to decide a London derby in Arsenal's favour late on.

That was the last action Arsenal saw before lockdown, and practically the former Germany star's last touch in a Gunners shirt. When football returned after finding a way to exist during the pandemic, Ozil was conspicuous by his absence. He was an unused substitute in a couple of matches, but was out of the matchday squad for all of the others.

Results in his absence have been mixed. A strong finish to last season saw Arsenal win the FA Cup for the 14th time, with impressive wins over Manchester City and Chelsea on the way. This term, they made a strong start, with losses at Anfield and the Etihad Stadium not all that unexpected. But a loss at home to Leicester on Sunday raised familiar questions.

Arsenal dominated the Foxes for the first 45 minutes but save a drilled cross from Kieran Tierney to Lacazette, who nodded wide, they failed to convert any of their possession or territorial dominance into clear-cut chances. The inevitable conclusion was a breakaway Leicester winner late on.

Disappointing as the result was, it was hardly unheralded. Arsenal lost matches they dominated against Brighton and Aston Villa at the tail end of last term, both characterised by the plague of sideways passes that undid them against Leicester. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may be one of the best strikers in the Premier League, but that is of no use if he is rarely picked out by his team-mates.

Further warnings came at home to Leicester last term, where they let a lead slip late on, and in the early-season encounters against West Ham and Sheffield United this campaign, where they struggled to put away weaker opposition and squeezed out narrow 2-1 wins. There is no prospect of him returning to action for Sunday's match against Manchester United either.

All the while, Ozil's freeze-out continues. Nobody polarises opinion among Arsenal fans like the 32-year-old. A hero of the late Wenger era, his work-rate has always been questioned, but to some he is a genius. The truth is that he is somewhere between the two.

All too often during his Arsenal career, he has been a peripheral figure and it is tough to see him having any sort of tangible impact in big away games, with Mikel Arteta taking a decidedly conservative game plan against his side's biggest rivals.

But against teams who look to sit back and stifle the Gunners, it is hard to make an argument against a player of his type featuring, at least on the bench, to unpick stubborn defences. With an entire season squeezed into eight months rather than nine and Arsenal in four competitions, it seems at best foolhardy, at worst petty and personal, to refuse the services of a long-standing, world famous player with a wealth of experience.

Speculation has been rife as to why Ozil has been left out. While he had similar issues with Unai Emery, he was initially a fixture under Arteta. "I had a difficult time under Unai, so I didn’t play. Right now, I’m happy, I’m playing," he said on his side's visit to Dubai in the mid-season break last term.

But after the pandemic struck, he was one of three players to refuse a pay reduction, which was engineered as the club's slashed revenue necessitated financial cutbacks. His was the only name to be leaked to the press.

Last December, Arsenal distanced themselves from a statement made by Ozil on social media about the plight of the Uighur people in China. Facing alleged genocide, the Uighur people have been supported by the UK amongst many other UN countries. Days after Ozil's social media post, CCTV, China's state broadcaster, pulled Arsenal's fixture with Manchester City from their schedules.

Whether he is being frozen out due to personal politics or geopolitics, this situation is pathetic. Ozil remains a fine player capable of influencing matches, but is left watching games at home, tweeting, then going through the motions of showing up to training. Arsenal, meanwhile, continue to haemorrhage money on a player whom they desperately sought to tie down to a new contract just two years ago, and at a time when they are crying out for creativity.

Ozil knows precisely that his social media activity mobilises those sections of the fanbase which remain extraordinarily loyal to him. Stunts such as offering to pay for the salary of the man in the Gunnersaurus costume could be read as being designed to stoke division and win fans to his cause.

The FA Cup win and an improved defence has bought Arteta considerable credit among Arsenal supporters but he will not be immune to the sort of vitriol that Wenger and Emery suffered before him if his team continue to limp past or stumble to defeats against inferior teams. Public opinion moves incredibly quickly and while Ozil is still presenting himself in this way, he can harness it to his advantage.

His positive approach is contrasted by that of his agent Dr Erkul Sogut, who has slammed Arteta and the club, accusing the Spaniard of lying when he claimed that he had "failed" Ozil. "Arsenal fans deserve an honest explanation, not [Arteta] saying, 'I failed Ozil'. You didn’t fail Ozil. You failed to be fair, honest and transparent and treat someone with respect who has a contract and was loyal all the time."

Sogut also highlighted that Arteta, who had long since succumbed to injuries and ceased to be a useful player in his final season at Arsenal, was given the send-off he deserved in 2016 and remained an integrated member of the squad, accusing the club of classlessness. He may have something there.

If the club wish to renege their huge contract offer of 2018, that is hardly Ozil's fault. Meanwhile, if in light of Ozil's criticism of China over their treatment of the Uighur, the club moved to protect their interests in that market by jettisoning their highest earner - the club dispute this, telling the BBC it was "a football decision and that alone" - it only makes their stand for the Black Lives Matter movement or recent support for the people of Nigeria look performative and selective.

When Ozil arrived at Arsenal, they had not won a trophy in eight years. He won three FA Cups in his first four seasons and is one of the few star players to have extended his contract at the club since the move to the Emirates from Highbury. After more than 250 appearances, he deserves more than to be the fall guy in a petty internal battle.