Isn’t Mesut Ozil Just Like Wilshere!

Day three at the World Cup saw three results and three red cards. It was certainly more entertaining than the previous two and we finally saw a team that looks like it belongs in the latter stages of the tournament.

Germany had the combination of slick passing and seamless movement, almost like Arsenal on a good day. Klose missed a few sitters and those with a sense of humour will surely see shades of Arsenal in that as well!

While all the German players did well, one stood out. Mesut Ozil was the vital cog in an exciting German machine as he commanded the midfield and split the Australian defence almost at will. He might have picked only one assist but there were plenty of passes that showed his vision and creativity.

As I was enjoying his craft I was also trying to think who he was like. The first comparison in my mind was with Fabregas as there is this thought of him leaving and us getting a replacement. Ozil didn’t quite match up with El Capitan (which is not a criticism) so I thought of others. Suddenly it struck me that his style looked very familiar.

Left footed, nice touch, sleek, elegant passer, fantastic vision, and looks like he will own the pitch one day. Then it hit me – Jack Wilshere! Of course Ozil is a slightly older and more developed version of the Arsenal youngster but the similarities are obvious. I say slightly more developed because Ozil isn’t the finished article himself as we saw when his touch let him down twice when in on goal.

In yesterday’s article I was talking about England lacking a midfielder who can pull the strings and Bob mentioned Wilshere in the comments. Even those who might not have realized what Wilshere can develop into will now have seen a near perfect replica.

I don’t think they will turn out to be exactly similar. Wilshere will probably develop into a more physical, combative player as is demanded by the Premiership, while Ozil’s development will depend on where he plies his trade. In any case, few years down the line they will both be dominating the midfield for club and country.

As far as replacing Fabregas goes (assuming he will leave, which is not a certainty) I’m not sure Ozil is a good choice. It’s hard to judge based on this performance alone and I’d like to see him against more physical, faster and better organized opponents before I form an opinion.

Moving to the events of the day, I was really surprised by the ease with which the refs sent people off. I’m not saying it’s wrong, in fact, I was happy with the first two cards as they were legit and down to some stupid decisions by the player sent off. Too often refs are criticised for sending people off under the pretext that it kills the game for the viewers. It’s one of the most ridiculous arguments and thankfully this time around FIFA seems to have given the officials a free hand.

I can understand why fans of the Socceroos might disagree with this one. Cahill was shown a straight red for a nothing tackle that wasn’t dangerous. The ref obviously saw it as two footed or something but he got it completely wrong. So far the officiating has been fantastic so I don’t have a problem with such a mistake. Australia were not in the game anyway.

The big question for them is will FIFA have the guts and common sense to overturn this decision?! The absence of an experienced and talented campaigner like Cahill will surely hurt them against the other two sides.

Interestingly, Schwarzer made a mistake for the second German goal. It seems any keeper even linked with Arsenal is catching the disease! But to be frank, even though it looks like the keepers fault, the main mistake was from the central defenders who didn’t deal with the cross. As I’ve said about the Arsenal keepers all season, doesn’t matter who is in goal, if the players in front don’t get it right the keeper will look like a joker, eventually.

To understand this better have another look at the same game and see how the German defenders dealt with the crosses.

The other games weren’t exactly drab affairs but didn’t really enthral either. At least Slovenia and Algeria kept the ball down and tried playing football. I don’t really expect much more from smaller teams. A needless foul and a daft hand ball were enough to reduce Algeria to ten men and if that wasn’t enough their keeper decided he wanted to compete with Green for the Arsenal post!

Ghana and Serbia were slightly better and that game did see a number of good chances. Some poor finishing by the Europeans was punished when a stupid hand ball lead to a penalty. A silly sending off didn’t help either. Both these teams will pose a stronger challenge to the Germans and I’m really looking forward to watching Ozil in those games.

The real big guns will feature in the next three days. RvP and his Dutch mates will start off with a tough game against Denmark, who might be without Bendtner. That will be a shame. I think Bendtner can make a big impact on this World Cup. Hopefully we will also get a good look at Simon Kjaer. Wenger will surely be impressed if he can keep Van Persie quiet!

In the second game Cameroon take on Japan and there was some news yesterday that Song might not start. He was quite disappointing in the only warm-up game that I saw but the others in the team weren’t too sharp either. The Indomitable Lions aren’t awe inspiring anymore and their fate is likely to rest on the form of Eto’o.

The performances of Bendtner and Eto’o might decide who goes through from this group. Let’s see if a young Gunner can compete with a proven winner.

In the final game Italy take on Paraguay. The defending champions haven’t had a great run-in and I’m hoping we get an upset in that one.

For now, enjoy the performance of “Future Wilshere”!