Arsenal Manager Wenger Has Unearthed The New Robert Pires

Robert Pires is a phenomenon. A man very much with a humble beginning is another player who owes Arsène Wenger endless gratitude for his brilliant foresight, and even when soccer odds were against Pires.

Also testament to his genuine brilliance was the fact that his purist nature took the understanding between him and his fellow French counterpart, Thierry Henry to a dimension we’ve not had another proper glimpse at re-living, since the last title win, with an invisible cast led by the duo.

Since the wide genius’ departure, Arsène has tried time and again to plug into the role the ex-France International left behind.

Dating back to the signings of Tomáš Rosický (2006), Samir Nasri  (2008) and Santi Cazorla (2012), it is quite apparent that each of these options had a Robert-esque niche of skipping past challenges with a mastering cutting onto the favourite foot and letting fly or reversing a defence splitting through ball to whichever teammate operates on the same frequency, and wavelength with the ex-Arsenal no. 7.

That said, Arsenal might have looked far and wide to replicate the finesse of “Bobby”, but seem to have unearthed another option worth comparing with the genuine quality of the Arsenal gentleman, and he’s none other other than the elite, world class gem that is Mesut özil.

Since his arrival in September 2013, Mesut özil has been afforded the time to grow into the elegant role, paving the way to become the standard Heir to Robert Pires’ own golden days of dominant Dynasty.
 
After showing consistency in gradually becoming a more rounded player than an assist ace, Ozil can finally lay credence to the fact that Arsenal have well and truly unearthed their next Rob, with both masters in reading the game, seeing what no one else envisages with the ball at their feet, and also ghosting past the opposition, aided by those late runs into the box to latch onto rebounds and square-plays.

The ex-Real Madrid man is also experiencing an impressive purple patch on the pitch and is already on course to hit double figures before the end of 2016, an additional evidence that he’s heading in the right direction of the fellow Arsenal World Cup winner, in this case.

Perhaps one tactical point a few would like to pick out from these similarities is the fact that Robert operated largely from outwide, with the freedom to cut inside on either side of the wings, while Ozil for the most parts of his time at the Club, has been giving the Iconic central role behind the main striker.

However, having moved from the traditional 4-4-2 formation to the more modern 4-2-3-1 system, it was always expected that a few changes zip personnel and roles would be managed to the best potential of the system.

This equally means that the second striker in this system would operate from out-wide, cutting in and creating room to get on the end of chances (largely created by the no. 10), as often as possible.

These situations of course also came into existence, following the evolution of no. 10s, with the striking and creative qualities of one such as Dennis Bergkamp, into a more playmaking role that also involves working the channels on the wings and/or occasionally dropping deep into central midfield to influence the game, a trait we’ve come to admire from Ozil.

In essence, if we were still practicing the system of four and four across two, there’s a good chance Ozil would be paying his trade in front of Hector Bellerin/Nacho Monreal. Then I guess it’s a good thing the game has evolved....

Eventually, the slender build of both has over time been able to adjust to the physical nature of the Premier League, despite Ozil still falling victim to excessive aggression from time to time.

This certainly changed the way he approached matches in England and didn’t hesitate to bulk up a bit and learn to play with better stamina, when he returned from his three-month layoff around this time two years ago.

The instigator in all of this, Arsène has done a magnificent job in getting the best out of players and the development of Pires into world class act took the boss’ team at the time, to an unprecedented level.

However, in 2016, you’ll be forgiven to think shades of Pires still appears in tactical heat maps, testament to the attacking qualities Arsène has retained in his carefully selected attacking players.

In “Bobby” (combining with Henry) and Mesut (with Akexis), you have smooth engine catalysts blossoming with technical purity and capable of deciding the tightest of games, raising the stakes through qualities of being technically gifted, elegant, unselfish, albeit with the potential of being ruthless.

Judging from what we’ve seen about Ozil this season, you can tell the German is on a mission to bring more parts of his creative game to life, perhaps a sign that he wants to be remembered for something other than the unofficial “Assist King” title given to him by the Arsenal faithful.
 
To this end, there’s a growing feeling that Arsène’s pulling it off in aiding Ozil to thrive off the partnership with Alexis, much like the way it was it was constructed between the no. 7 and 14.

It certainly is still early to envisage breaking records but at this rate, we could see the modern model of our own “Rob” try and outdo his remarkable assist record with putting it in the back of the net himself, this time.

2016/2017 currently reads one setup, six strikes. Ozil doing a “Pires” would be up there with Arsène’s best achievements.

Igho Kingsley

Photo Credit : arsenal.com