This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Speaking on BT Sport, Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has suggested the club could do with a player like Mesut Ozil.
What did he say?
The former Germany international has effectively been frozen out at Arsenal this season under Unai Emery, playing just 142 minutes of football.
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And, after being left out of the Gunners’ match-day squad once again for the north London side’s clash against Vitoria in the Europa League on Thursday night, Scholes made a shock claim involving his former club.
He said (as quoted by The Daily Mail): “There’s no link between the midfield players and the strikers. The weight of pass at times was so bad. You want to be encouraged you want to see some bits of good play now and again, a one-two here and there, the number ten receiving the ball on the half turn, but there’s a lack of encouragement.
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“I can’t understand that (Ozil’s situation at Arsenal). I think he’s a player that can link a team together. ‘I think he’s got great quality, he’s shown that in his career, he could be an answer short term, I don’t know. I think that would be up to him. I can’t see it happening but I think he is a player that United could do with right now.”
RVP or Sanchez?
Well, wouldn’t that be quite the surprise move? United and Arsenal have seen a number of players trade sides over the years, all to varying degrees of success. The Red Devils saw Robin van Persie fire them to a Premier League title in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge, before a swoop for Alexis Sanchez saw their fingers get burned.
There is no doubting that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side lack a bit of creativity, failing to score more than one goal in a game since their 4-0 thrashing of Chelsea in their opening Premier League game of the season. Ozil would provide them with a bit of imagination – he has an impressive career average of three key passes per game.
But at 31-years-0ld, and reportedly earning £350k-a-week, he does not fit the kind of profile of player the Red Devils are supposedly looking for. And that should be the defining factor in deciding to shy away from a potential move for the German.