This article is part of Football FanCast's The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Mesut Ozil started Arsenal’s clash with Leicester City on Saturday, something that might now be seen as a rarity.

On the chalkboard

The former Germany international has been in and out of the Gunners team throughout this season and his display against the Foxes was just his third in the top-flight.

However, it remains to be seen if manager Unai Emery will keep his faith in the midfielder, such was his performances at the King Power Stadium.

Per WhoScored, he had 55 touches of the ball in total and racked up a pass completion rate of 95% - the second-highest of any Arsenal player.

He also registered one key pass and completed two dribbles, along with winning three tackles and taking four corners. Of those, zero were successful.

Throughout the game, Ozil kept huffing and puffing but, really, at the end of the day, not enough of that effort came off.

Left alone

In the 3-4-1-2 formation that Emery employed, Ozil was essentially stranded between the strikers and the midfielders.

An exceptional playmaker on his day, the German couldn’t really get into the game and struggled to have any sort of impact in the final third.

He did not have a single shot on goal, while James Maddison and Youri Tielemans, the two central midfielders for Leicester, had eight combined.

They were deployed in a 4-1-4-1 formation and given licence to roam, well aware that Wilfred Ndidi, in defensive midfield, can mop up if they get too elaborate and lose the ball.

Ozil did not have that luxury – Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi made just one tackle – and he was constantly trying to thread the ball through to Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Essentially, he was stranded with no one to protect him, and it remains to be seen if he will be allowed another chance to play in the role.