Why Unai Emery was right to use Tough Love & Mesut Ozil against Bournemouth

Since his arrival at Arsenal, Mesut Ozil has been one of the most controversial figures in English football.

There seems to be no way to sit on the fence when it comes to assessing the German midfielder. Either you are a fan of his astute passing vision that looks like an eagle, or you say that his perceived laziness and lack of physics are overwhelming accusations of his inability to adapt to English football.

He remains Arsenal's most technically talented player, but his recent omission of Unai Emery's starting lineup against Bournemouth was entirely justified and constitutes an example of sensible management by the Spanish manager.

Even the most loyal supporters of Ozil must admit that the former World Cup winner has been hot and cold all season. For every match where he directs the show with effortless ease, he is always able to achieve a performance where he has virtually no effect of the procedure.

In the matches that followed his remarkable performance against Leicester in October, the 30-year-old has been pretty average and, if we evaluate these performances in isolation, there is no reason to think that he is currently irreplaceable.

This is the mantra on which Emery built his first success at Arsenal. Nobody, no matter how much money they are worth, or what they have already achieved, does not deserve to play if they do not succeed well.

Returning to his past with PSG, Emery learned his lesson when it comes to ordering a locker room. During his stay in the French capital, he admitted that he was not the club's leader and that Neymar had complete control of the procedure, which no director should have to manage.

If Emery makes a decision, this decision is final. Supporters will have to be convinced that he knows his players better than anyone else.

Emery also proved that he was the type of manager who learned from every misstep and recoiled. He organizes his teams based on everything he's already encountered.

Ozil was physically overwhelmed when visiting Arsenal at Crystal Palace at the end of October and, while Bournemouth was playing with such a combative midfielder, Emery acknowledged that a repeat of this performance was likely to occur.

We must congratulate Ezil's talented leadership for Emzil, but we must not forget that there is a margin of maneuver between keeping a player on his guard and completely destroying his morale.

Time will tell if Emery's severe love strategy will work in the long run, but this currently seems to be fully justified.