The Real Mesut Özil Arrived at San Siro to Keep One Arsenal Dream Alive

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil. (AFP)
Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil. (AFP)
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The Real Mesut Özil Arrived at San Siro to Keep One Arsenal Dream Alive

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil. (AFP)
Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil. (AFP)

When Brighton beat Arsenal to push Arsène Wenger and his miserable band of men even further into their palace of sadness earlier this month, Mesut Özil was nowhere to be seen. It was easy to reach for the old argument that when Arsenal needed this outrageously talented playmaker the most, he was notable by his absence. It has been a vacillating debate ever since Özil arrived in England in 2013, between those who have fallen for his gilded skills and others irked at his ostensibly casual manner.

As with most things, the truth lies somewhere between the two. But it is undoubtedly frustrating in the extreme when Özil disappears from a match, the influence he can have sadly absent. But there was none of that frustration on last week. Arsenal needed a man to open up a Milan defense that had not conceded a goal in the previous 599 minutes of football.

And Özil did exactly that. His passing, in the first half particularly, was sensational; smooth movements here and there as he looked for holes in that defense. He set up the first goal for Henrikh Mkhitaryan with the sort of instinctive pass that only blessed players can see, let alone execute, let alone execute instantly.

The second was less flamboyant but equally effective, finding the perfectly timed run of Aaron Ramsey with a weighted ball. Admittedly, he was not under the most pressure from the Milan players, and you do wonder how he might have fared if a peak-era Gennaro Gattuso had been nipping at his ankles rather than stomping around the sidelines in a sensible fleece.

But that did not matter too much. Özil was there when Arsenal needed him and while you can argue that despite their fine recent form this is generations away from being a vintage Milan team, for Arsenal’s current purposes nobody really cares.

The Europa League means everything to them now. It really does not matter too much if in all of Arsenal’s remaining domestic games Özil sets up an armchair on the halfway line. The Premier League is an irrelevance, even the most hopeful supporter knows they have no chance of finishing fourth. Even Wenger, whose mere presence at Arsenal is a victory of optimism over evidence, essentially admitted last week that the gap of 12 points is too much.

So qualification for the shiniest tournament rests on winning its younger, neglected sibling.

The unlikely but delicious dream, from an Arsenal point of view, is for them to win the Europa League, Chelsea to repeat their 2012 Champions League win and finish fifth in the Premier League, and for Tottenham to finish fourth. With only five teams from one country allowed in the main competition, Spurs would be the ones sacrificed.

The job is not yet done. Arsenal need only remember the last team from north London who scored two goals in Italy and went into the second leg filled with optimism. There is also the concerning fact that they have lost their last six home knockout games in Europe.

But largely thanks to Özil showing up in what rapidly became Arsenal’s biggest game of the season, they are in a strong position to progress. “The worry is how to stop Arsenal scoring,” said Gattuso before the game. “When I go to bed I dream of Özil.” He will be worrying about him for another week.

The Guardian Sport



Swiatek Fights Back to Down McNally and Reach Third Round

Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)
Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)
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Swiatek Fights Back to Down McNally and Reach Third Round

Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)
Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)

Iga Swiatek may not love the grass but relishes a battle whatever the surface and showed all that fight and bullish determination as she recovered to beat American Caty McNally 5-7 6-2 6-1 and reach the Wimbledon third round on Thursday.

McNally, the world number 208, looked poised to cause an upset when she clawed her way back from 4-1 down to take the first set against the five-times Grand Slam champion.

At that point Swiatek's mediocre record at the All England Club, where the Pole has never gone past the quarter-finals, seemed to be weighing heavily on her shoulders.

But rather than shy away from the scrap, the former world number one flicked a psychological switch that saw her come out for the second set transformed, upping her aggression and playing with a ferocity McNally simply could not handle.

She broke early in the second set and never looked back, losing only three more games to set up a clash with another American Danielle Collins.

"I started the match well, so I knew that my game was there," said Swiatek. "I knew that at the start of the second set I had to be more accurate. I just tried to improve and I'm happy it worked."

The eighth seed may have her sights set far higher than the third round, but by reaching the last 32 she underlined her consistency on the big stage.

The 23-year-old is the third player this century to reach the third round in 22 consecutive women’s singles Grand Slams after Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams.

DIFFICULT SURFACE

Whether such milestones are enough to persuade Swiatek she can excel on a surface that has so far proven difficult to master is yet to be determined.

With four French Open titles to her name, another at the US Open and two semi-final appearances in Australia, her unspectacular Wimbledon record stands out like a sore thumb.

A run to the Bad Homburg final in the grasscourt warm-up event showed her game is not entirely unsuited to the surface, though there was a period in the first set against McNally where she may have wondered if this tournament was simply not for her.

Having broken early and raced into a 4-1 lead, the wheels briefly came off as McNally did everything to push Swiatek out of her comfort zone.

The American pushed right up to the baseline to receive serve, trying to give Swiatek less time to react to the return and for a while it worked.

McNally spurned four break points in the seventh game before finally taking her chance at the fifth attempt before breaking again for a 6-5 lead when Swiatek swiped a backhand long.

When the Pole fired a wild forehand off target to hand McNally the opener, everything seemed to be going the American's way. But that was as good as it got.

DOUBLES PARTNERS

Swiatek knows McNally's game well - the pair were doubles partners in their youth, clinching the junior title at Roland Garros in 2018 - and set about dismantling it in double-quick time.

She broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set and again to level the contest at one set each.

Swiatek then did the same at the start of the third set, breaking to go 2-0 ahead, with a forehand swiped cross-court, while another forehand winner saw her break again to move 4-0 up.

It was then straightforward for the Pole, although she did have to save five break points before wrapping up victory with an ace.

As well as earning her spot in the next round, the match against her old playing partner offered a pleasing trip down memory lane.

"It's pretty funny because I remember these matches pretty well," she said of her junior days.

"We know each other pretty well ... She's one of the people who make you feel like you are not only rivals on tour but that you can also respect each other and like each other."