Ozil performance a signal of Arsenal rejuvenation under Arteta who made a big impact with half-time team-talk
MIKEL ARTETA might not be the Messiah Arsenal need but he’s already working minor miracles.
The Gunners’ new boss had called for his senior players to stop hiding and to take some responsibility for the slump which cost Unai Emery his job.
Yet no-one seriously expected the response to be quite so sudden from his two most high-profile stars.
But Mesut Ozil turned in his most convincing performance for months and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang suddenly looked interested again.
It still wasn’t enough to secure a second win in 14 games for a team who have seriously lost their way in recent months.
But at least Arteta got the passion and energy he wanted and that is surely a step in the right direction.
Aubameyang’s 14th goal of the season was enough to avert Arsenal’s 18th defeat of 2019 and lift the mood ahead of Chelsea’s visit to the Emirates on Sunday.
But it was the endeavours of Ozil which would have given Arteta most satisfaction in his first game in charge.
The former World Cup winner was restored to the starting line-up after being sent to the naughty step by Ljungberg for his hissy fit when he was subbed during his last appearance.
He had made a miraculous recovery from the foot injury sustained kicking his gloves away which ruled him out of Saturday’s trip to Everton.
Arteta is clearly on a mission to toughen up the lightweight German who was pictured being battered by a crash pad during the new manager’s first training session.
“Mesut is a massive player for this club and it’s my job to get the best out of him,” the Spaniard had declared at his Emirates unveiling last week.
That was a challenge which proved beyond Unai Emery and even Arsene Wenger during his final couple of years at the helm.
Now it is down to Arteta to get a tune out of a player who has earned £18.2million this year without scoring a single goal.
The biggest frustration for Arsenal fans is the occasional glimpse of the kind of quality which once made Ozil such a special talent.
It was there for all to see when he threaded through a peach of a pass to send Alexandre Lacazette in on goal after just six minutes.
But the Frenchman was unable to get his shot away before being dispossessed by Chris Mepham.
Lacazette, like Ozil, was back in favour after a recent spell on the bench but £72milliion record signing Nicolas Pepe still couldn’t get the nod over rookie winger Reiss Nelson.
Bournemouth, beaten in six of their previous seven games, hadn’t managed a single shot on target during their last two matches at the Vitality.
Yet it took them only four minutes to find a way through Arsenal’s porous defence before Ryan Fraser’s goal-bound effort was charged down by Sokratis.
Callum Wilson’s first-time volley just cleared the bar from Fraser’s cross as Bournemouth looked to exploit Bukayo Saka’s obvious discomfort as makeshift left-back.
With Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac both injured, teenager Saka has been charged with filling in for the next few weeks.
Yet it is clear that he is not a natural defender and his limitations were cruelly exposed in the build-up to Bournemouth’s 35th minute opener, when his attempted clearance was blocked by Dan Gosling.
With Saka out of position, Jack Stacey was left unattended to pull the ball back for Gosling to get ahead of Lucas Torreira and stab home at the near post.
Arteta could barely contain his frustration at conceding such a soft goal, but it’s something he is going to have to get accustomed to.
Yet whatever he said during the half-time break clearly had the desired effect as his team came out with a renewed sense of purpose.
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Ozil was suddenly demanding the ball and stretching Bournenmouth’s injury-hit defence.
Hell, he even closed down and made a block high up the pitch to keep Arsenal on the offensive.
He opened Bournemouth up with a magnificent 48th minute pass which Aubameyang curled just wide of the far post.
But Arsenal’s top scorer made no mistake after 63 minutes when he swept home from Nelson’s deflected shot after another Ozil lay-off.
That was to be Ozil’s last meaningful contribution before being replaced by Joe Willock with 15 minutes to go.
But there were no tantrums this time as he left the pitch to a big hug from his new boss.
Callum Wilson thought he snatched it right at the death for Bournemouth but VAR confirmed that he was offside when he netted from close range.
That would have been an undeservedly cruel blow for Arsenal to suffer after putting in so much work and effort to impress their new boss.
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This is the first time since 1983 that Arsenal find themselves in the bottom half of the table on Boxing Day.
So Arteta is under no illusions about the size of the job ahead. But at least he knows that he has his stars on board and fighting for the cause.
And that is one hell of a start.