Tying down Ozil is more crucial than ever

AFTER their surrender at Bournemouth last week, I argued in these pages that it was the worst Arsenal team I had seen. On Saturday, Arsenal needed just 22 minutes to go 4-0 up against Crystal Palace. The difference? Mesut Ozil. Without Ozil and Alexis Sanchez last weekend, it was a worrying glimpse of the future for Arsenal. Against Palace, they proved that with Ozil and Jack Wilshere they can blow teams away and it is vital that Arsene Wenger gets them both signed up. Ozil has Arsenal where he wants them. Now Sanchez has gone, he knows the club cannot risk losing him. It reminds me of when Steve McManaman left Liverpool for Real Madrid. To prevent other players from leaving, the club gave us all a pay rise. Even if it means breaking their wage structure, Arsenal have to give Ozil what he wants. The next few weeks are huge. Arsenal have a great chance of reaching the Carabao Cup final, and if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang comes in as well as Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Wenger can rekindle the pair’s superb understanding from their days at Borussia Dortmund. Fail to tie down their stars, though, and the future does not look rosy.