Gilberto Silva Believes Mesut Ozil Can Be 'More Decisive,' Hails Alexis Sanchez

Former Arsenal midfield enforcer Gilberto Silva has spoken out about the club's current form, criticising Mesut Ozil for his lack of consistency.

The Brazilian hailed the rising status of recent acquisition Alexis Sanchez but questioned the overall mentality of the Gunners' philosophy.

Chisanga Malata of the Daily Star quoted the Brazilian urging Ozil to prove his worth in Arsenal colours and quicken his overall game:

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You speak about Arsenal and how they don’t spend big money on a player often but they did with Ozil and it is always a bit risky. Coming from Spain it is tough to adapt, it doesn’t always happen straight away.

I think the most important thing is that the player understands the philosophy of the team, the philosophy of the manager and the expectation from the fans. I do really like him as a player but sometimes in the game he does look quite slow, although he has that quality to change the game.

He can be more decisive for Arsenal for the quality he has, he can be much more decisive for the club.

"

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

The German ace has certainly struggled for Arsenal this season and the injury that saw him sidelined for a large amount of the current campaign compounded his misery.

But Ozil has recently returned to the starting XI and there are signs the best form he produced at Real Madrid could be about to return.

Ozil has scored three times and assisted on five occasions in his 12 league appearances, per WhoScored.com, and the break from first team action seems to have served him well.

Broadcaster and Arsenal writer, Jon Branaes, believes Ozil has been given a hard time by his critics, using Gilberto himself as an example:

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Silva also spoke about the cultural issues at the Emirates, and he explained the philosophy of the club may have damaged their potential to win trophies, per Jonathan Green of the Daily Star:

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They [Arsenal] haven't been able to compete with Chelsea and Manchester City because they spend money on big names and this is not the Arsenal culture. They don't spend a lot of money to sign players but apart from that it is not easy to find a way to get back on track to win titles.

It was important for them last season that they won the FA Cup but a team like Arsenal need more and I hope they find a way to achieve what they always look for.

"

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

But the former Gunner was positive about the fresh impact by Barcelona signing Sanchez, saying the attacker could lead Arsenal to new glories, per Green:

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Every player has a different style; you can't really compare the likes of Dennis Bergkamp with other strikers, for example. Sanchez is doing well and I hope he continues like that because he can be a guy who can help Arsenal win titles, that is what the club wants.

"

Gilberto is correct to highlight Ozil's issues, however, his form now looks consistent, and with the likes of Theo Walcott returning and bringing pace to the attack, Ozil can operate in dangerous areas around the penalty box.

Arsenal still have a defence which looks unlikely to bother the top two teams in the Premier League at present, but Wenger has the skeleton of a world-class squad, and the next transfer window could see the Gunners realise their potential as a title-winning unit.