It’s time for Arsenal to find a modern attacking midfielder

Mesut Ozil has had a great career, but he no longer performs well as a number 10 in the modern game. It’s time for Arsenal to find an heir to the throne.

When you think of what positions Arsenal need strengthening in, a flurry of names, numbers, and thoughts come rushing to your head. No matter how much they spend or how many players they bring in, the Gunners always seem to be 4-5 players away from challenging the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, and even that might be lenient.

These days, a lot of the focus seems to be at center-back for Arsenal, like it has been for more than half a decade, along with central midfield and even left-wing, right-back, and striker (depending on Aubameyang’s future, of course).

But one position that I believe is a dire need for the Gunners continues to go ignored when it comes to discussions regarding where the team needs to improve. That is the number 10 role, in attacking midfield, where Mesut Ozil currently starts week-in, week-out.

Ozil has had a fantastic career and will go down as one of the best playmakers in modern football history, but he is well past his best, even if he’s only 31.

The German legend is the product of a lost generation, one full of technique and skill, where players would have early but wonderfully brilliant peaks. Now, with football favoring intensity and repetition rather than elegance and ingenuity, Ozil is finding things difficult.

Arsenal needs to find an attacking midfielder to aid their goalscorers in the final third, because right now, Ozil isn’t doing that, and neither are any of Arsenal’s other midfielders. In fact, Arsenal have only had 2 goals from midfield all season in the Premier League, 1 each from Ozil and Lucas Torreira.

This is a shocking stat that has made things more difficult for the likes of Pepe, Lacazette, and Aubameyang, who are doing all of the work in the final third. Arsenal’s center-backs have even scored more goals than their midfielders.

Of course, the solution in attacking midfield could potentially come internally. Emile Smith Rowe and Joe Willock are both capable of playing in the role, and both have shown some quality in the final third when given opportunities by Arsenal. They will only improve with time and could potentially be cost-saving options.

More often than not though, first-XI solutions come from the transfer market, and there are some quality attacking midfielders out there to chase.

Philippe Coutinho and James Rodriguez are both on the market and would be upgrades on Ozil. The dream signing is Kai Havertz of course, the natural replacement for Ozil on the German national team, but he would only move for an astronomical fee. Other, younger options include Jonathan David and Orkun Kokcu.

Of course, Arsenal are going to need solutions in other positions too, but adding in a productive attacking midfielder would make a massive difference in the team. Mesut Ozil might still have immense talent, but he simply isn’t cutting it anymore.