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



UK Government Backs London Bid to Host 2029 Athletics World Championships

FILE -Workers continue setup preparations ahead of the start of the World Athletics Championships at the London Stadium, in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Aug. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE -Workers continue setup preparations ahead of the start of the World Athletics Championships at the London Stadium, in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Aug. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
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UK Government Backs London Bid to Host 2029 Athletics World Championships

FILE -Workers continue setup preparations ahead of the start of the World Athletics Championships at the London Stadium, in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Aug. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
FILE -Workers continue setup preparations ahead of the start of the World Athletics Championships at the London Stadium, in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Aug. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

The British government has announced its support of London's bid to host the 2029 athletics world championships.

London hosted the biannual premier track-and-field event in 2017 at the London Stadium, which also held the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Games. The plan is to stage the 2029 worlds at the same venue.

Saturday's announcement included the government's support of a bid for Britain to host the 2029 World Para Athletics Championships.

“Subject to funding from partners being confirmed, the government has agreed to provide significant funding for both bids, reflecting the UK’s ambition to once again bring the world’s greatest athletes to UK shores,” it said in a statement.

The announcement came with London hosting a Diamond League event on Saturday.

This year’s athletics worlds will take place in Tokyo in September. The 2027 edition will be held in Beijing.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he's “delighted to support the bid.”

“The event would provide a boost for UK businesses and support jobs as well as bring our communities together,” he said in a statement.