Arsenal Finally Have Ozil Back – But Should He Start Against Stoke?

Finally, Arsenal’s record signing Mesut Ozil is back in contention for a start after recovering from a knee injury he suffered just prior to the last international break. But while the German international was on the sidelines, Santi Cazorla has undoubtedly fluorished in the Number 10 role and has shown the form that made him such a sensation during his first season in English football.

With Danny Welbeck out injured and Lukas Podolski having left for Inter Milan, it is extremely likely that Arsene Wenger will be tempted to bring his coveted playmaker straight into the starting eleven and push Santi out wide to the left flank. But quite honestly, Santi is minimally effective playing there and the same can be said about Ozil playing in that position. Keeping that in mind, I would opt to leave the Spaniard in the central role and play Tomas Rosicky on the left flank.

The veteran midfielder has notched up a couple of very good performances since coming back into the first-team picture and I feel that he deserves to keep his place in the starting eleven as a result. Moreover, I would like to see Ozil fight for his place in the side as he was pretty lacklustre prior to his injury. I am one of those who believe that the former Real Madrid man’s price tag has a lot to do with the amount of game-time he gets and I believe that Mesut will perform his best without a guaranteed spot in the side.

With that being said, I would like to see the returning Mesut Ozil to start from the bench against Stoke and both Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky should keep their places in the starting eleven.