Now or never for Mesut Ozil Show to break into the big time

To light up the north London derby STAN COLLYMORE

SEVEN SISTERS might separate Arsenal and Tottenham but today the battle for north London bragging rights will hinge on the contributions of two men. One of them is M Mesut Ozil, who despite Tuesday’s cra cracking goal against Ludogorets still has to prove he can produce those killer moments for the Gunners in the ga games that really matter. The other is H Harry Kane, to whom Spurs boss Ma Mauricio Pochettino must send an SOS if his side are going to end a miserable run of six games without a win.

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After weeks of asking ‘# WheresMesut? WheresMesut?’ on Twitter I’ve been copping some ferocious stick from A Arsenal fans in the past few days. TheyTh reckon his cool, calmcal and collected finishfin against the championsc of BulgariaB s hot down my claims that he still needs to show himself in the biggest matches. But, come on, it came the might of Ludogorets in a group game. And until I see himh do that sort of thing against the Spanish or German champions in the last few minutes of a Champions League knock-out fixture then I won’t be changing my mind.

Or, of course, in the white- hot atmosphere of a north London derby.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll happily eat humble pie and drop the cheeky Ozil hashtag.

But only when he has proved he’s not just a bells-and-whistles, cherry-onthe-top kind of player, a flat-track bully who is prone to go missing in the bigger fixtures.

It’s not like I’m the only one saying it.

There’s no doubting his ability, his talent, but – a la Cristiano Ronaldo, a la Lionel Messi – I want to see him taking big, big games by the scruff of the neck.

Along the Seven Sisters Road, Tottenham’s problem in recent weeks has also been because of a player who has been on the missing list.

Kane, though, has been out with injury and, when he does play, you could never accuse him of lacking bottle.

He has always targeted a return for this fixture and the word from the Spurs camp is that he will play a part.

But if he’s fit enough to play a part in this game then he’s fit enough to start.

I’ve never quite understood why a manager would put a player on the bench knowing an injury to a team-mate could call him into action after two minutes.

Throwing him on from the start means he’s properly warmed up, rather than needing a couple of quick shuttle runs and he can get to grips with the pace of the game at the same time as the rest of the lads on the pitch.

I was at Wembley on Wednesday as Tottenham stunk the place out against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League and it’s obvious both the team and supporters could do with an injection of the feelgood factor that Kane’s return would bring.

He leads the line very well, he’s got an old head on young shoulders, and he’s a dependable performer.

So there are many persuasive reasons why he should play and I can’t think of one why he shouldn’t.

I’ve played in so many derby games that I know form can go out of the window and that’s the one hope Spurs have really got.

Bottle

But if Ozil and Alexis Sanchez find their groove then they could really put Pochettino’s men to the sword.

Arsenal have experience all over the pitch now. At last they are defending properly – I’ve been very impressed with Shkodran Mustafi – so I’m going for a clear victory, 2-0, 3-0 to the home side.

And if they were to win by three it would be the sort of confidence-booster that could keep them up around the top of the league for the next three or four months.

Lose, however, and Arsene Wenger will take pelters of his own about the bottle of his side.

But I just can’t see that happening.