He gets a free pass because he is the best player on the team. Is he playing like it? No, but that doesn't change the fact that he is. He was world class at Madrid, voted into the top 20 balon d'or list 4 years in a row, won german player of the year 3 years in a row, and was part of the uefa team of the year 2 years in a row. And this is the player that you say creates more problems than he offers solutions?

The weird thing is that the awards and recognition that he was getting every single year stopped as soon as he joined arsenal. Now is it because he all of the sudden became a lesser player? Maybe, but unlikely. I believe wegner has failed to set up the team in a way to get the best out of him, and the best out of the rest of the team as well. This I believe is due to having too many creative attacking players and trying to fit them all in, as well as playing a possession based style that doesnt suit the two best players on the team. You have ramsey playing right wing, santi playing as a box to box midfielder, and walcott starting as a center forward. This problem is going to become worse when wilshere is fit again and wegner tries to squeeze him in somehow. What exactly do you expect Ozil to do when you have a forward who cant hold up the ball, ramsey who drifts to the middle rather than provide width, and Sanchez who isolates himself by trying to dribble and be direct.

Now obviously wegner knows a lot more about football and setting up a team than I do, but I just don't agree with the vision he has for this group. I feel he is being both stubborn about changing play styles (and buying new players) and not wanting to drop players to the bench. I'm not a huge Giroud fan, but he should be starting. Walcott should be playing on the wing and ramsey should be playing next to coq. Unfortunately that leaves santi on the bench, but that happens when you have too many players playing the same position.

Personally, I would like to see Wegner experiment with Ozil as a false 9. He's had experience playing there in the national team and has had success. He is faster than Giroud, better at holding up the ball and linking up play than Walcott, and his defensive shortcomings would be minimized. This way we could have our wide players providing width, Santi or wilshere, when he gets back, play as a 10 (preferably wilshere), and ramsey playing in his best position as a box to box mid. I believe that putting players into their best positions and changing to a more direct style would make a huge difference in Ozil's impact, and our play in general.

TL;DR: Ozil is being limited by our play style (slow, possession based) and wegner plugging players into positions that don't suit them (walcott, ramsey, santi).