Earlier this week, Arsenal slumped to a demoralising 1-0 defeat by relegation-threatened Aston Villa.
Considering that the Gunners had won their two previous games before that – against Liverpool and Manchester City, might we add – it was a very disappointing result.
But it wasn’t only the result – it was the performance.
Despite naming a changed XI, Arsenal really struggled in the final third, really missed a spark, but it wasn’t that surprising.
After all, the North Londoners are 16th in the Premier League table in terms of chances created. In fact, Watford, Sunday’s opponents who could end up being relegated, have created more.
With that in mind, it’s possible that Mikel Arteta could finally bring Mesut Ozil in from the cold.
The former Germany international has been failing to make the match-day squads despite returning to training from that apparent ‘back injury’ of last month.
Arteta confirmed in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Watford game that the 31-year-old is available for selection and, really, he should recall him.
It’s no secret that the former Real Madrid man – who hasn’t played since football resumed last month – is a bit of a nuisance but, when motivated, he can be the difference between victory and defeat for an Arsenal side that could clearly do with his creativity.
If Watford was the Gunners’ last game of the season then it would make no sense to bring him back, but they have an FA Cup final on Saturday week and Sunday is the last chance Arteta has to give Ozil a warm-up game if he wants him involved against Cheslea.
On his day, Ozil, who has 77 assists for Arsenal, is a gamechanger. He looked finished up until very recently but maybe, just maybe, he could be the answer to their creative crisis.
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