In the wake of Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Sunday, Mesut Ozil has once found himself in the middle of the Gunners blame game- as many supporters and vast sections of the media are hounding the German international once again.

Arsenal’s club-record signing has had a target painted on his back by the British media ever since he arrived in English football and the criticism of his performance on Sunday was questionable, as he was arguably the best Gunners player on the pitch.

Ozil got stuck in, created attacks and provided the assist for Shkodran Mustafi’s equaliser but the attention has been drawn onto the fact that he sloppily gave the ball away for Sergio Aguero’s goal.

Admittedly, that was poor but Alexis Sanchez escaped criticism despite conceding possession in the build-up to that attack when Arsenal looked to be in a strong position, whilst Nacho Monreal was caught out of position.

Many have even suggested Alexis Sanchez had a good game yesterday when the reality is the Chilean was poor. He didn’t track back enough, he lost the ball cheaply and tried to be too extravagant- yet he won’t be criticised, as he shows ‘passion’.

That’s got to be one of the biggest issues within the British media and Arsenal fans need to ensure they don’t get dragged into these simplistic views, which suggest Alexis Sanchez is perfect and that Mesut Ozil is lazy.

The truth is, Ozil is far from lazy but the set up adopted by Arsenal doesn’t help his cause. As witnessed against Liverpool with Alex Iwobi playing centrally, the player in the number ten role in Arsenal’s 4-2-3-1 formation spends the majority of the game isolated from the rest of the team.

The midfield pairing behind them don’t push forward, the wingers drift centrally and the striker, which has been Alexis Sanchez on numerous times this season, drifts too deep- leaving Ozil, or whoever plays in this position, with nothing to choose.

Arsenal can get a lot more out of Mesut Ozil but to do that they should move away from their accustomed formation- and there’s no reason for them to stick with their current tactics, as it’s pretty clear that things aren’t going well at the moment.

With the right set-up around him, Mesut Ozil can be the catalyst towards success for Arsenal but the rest of the side needs to be disciplined. Individually, the German World Cup winner may be a bit suspect but with the right team around him, he will shine.

Make no mistake, if Arsenal sell him this summer we will be made to regret it as the buying club, whether that be Bayern Munich or someone else, will adopt a style of play and formation that benefits Ozil.

Arsenal haven’t done that in the four years since Mesut Ozil has signed and have instead tried to fit Ozil into their tactics, rather than build the side around him. Of course, you can’t do that for every signing you make but it’s baffling to see the most expensive player in Arsenal’s history misused.