Mesut Ozil Must Kickstart His Arsenal Career vs. Brighton in FA Cup

This weekend, Arsenal travel to Brighton and Hove Albion in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Arsenal made the same trip two years ago, winning on their first visit to the Falmer Stadium.

With the Seagulls languishing in the lower regions of the Championship table, this looks like another favourable tie for the Gunners. Mesut Ozil in particular will hope this is the place where his comeback will really kick in to gear. 

It will be fascinating to see the XI that Arsene Wenger names on the south coast. Typically, Wenger uses the cup competitions as an opportunity to rotate his squad.

The necessity of that policy is reduced by the fact that this match falls during an unusually light period of the fixture schedule—after the Christmas congestion, the Gunners have enjoyed the relative luxury of four games in as many weeks. On each occasion, they’ve had a full seven days to prepare for the following fixture. It’s perhaps no coincidence that the dutiful and disciplined performance that saw off Manchester City came after having substantial time for tactical planning. 

The recovery time afforded to the Arsenal squad since their game at the Etihad means Wenger could opt to stick with a winning formula. After such a convincing performance, he must be tempted. However, Wenger will be fully aware that there are several players chomping at the bit for a chance to impress. 

Foremost among those will surely be Ozil, who will have had this fixture marked in his diary for some time. After making his return to the matchday squad earlier this month, his comeback has been noticeably tentative—at the Etihad, he did not even make it off the bench.

That’s partly down to an understandably cautious approach. When you have an injury record as poor as Arsenal’s, throwing a player straight back into the fray early in his rehabilitation is never advisable. However, Ozil has been afforded longer on the sidelines in part due to the superb performances of Santi Cazorla. 

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Against City, the Spaniard capped a remarkable run of form with the most memorable display of his Arsenal career to date. Injuries to Ozil, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey have granted Cazorla his chance in the central playmaking role, and he has seized it spectacularly. At the moment, he is undroppable—which presents the issue of just how Wenger will fit both Cazorla and Ozil into the same side.

The simple answer is that he can’t. Cazorla’s purple patch makes him immovable, while putting Ozil wide would also be unwise. Earlier in this season, the German endured a disastrous spell on the wing, and returning him to that role would do little for his fragile confidence.

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What’s more, Arsenal currently have little room for a floating playmaker on the flank—with Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the side, the Gunners have developed a style depending on using speed and direct running in wide areas to support Olivier Giroud.

Ozil must know that, in all likelihood, nothing he can do against Brighton will win him back a Premier League berth for the visit of Aston Villa a week later. However, it’s a vital opportunity to get his passing radar attuned and jog Wenger’s memory of his mercurial gifts. 

There will be others jostling for position, too. Mathieu Flamini will want a chance to show he can still rival Francis Coquelin, while Theo Walcott will expect some much-needed game-time. Joel Campbell will be hoping for inclusion, and Wojciech Szczesny will hope to remind Wenger that his occasionally problematic personality comes paired with significant talent.

The likelihood is that we’ll see a composite team, with some of the Etihad heroes joined by those on the fringes of the first team. It’s a healthy mix and one that should ensure a highly motivated XI. The likes of Ozil will know that a poor performance and cup exit could see them struggle to find a regular place in the first team.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.