When Mesut Özil joined Arsenal on September 2nd for a club record breaking 42 million, the entire football world stood shocked. Arsene Wenger, one of the most notoriously thrifty managers ever, had just signed one of the best players in the world for a titanic amount of money. The signing put Arsenal on the map again, and signified that the North London club were ready to compete with the best financially. However after a breathtaking first few games at the club, Özil did the unthinkable. He hit a poor run of form. While he has shone on occasion over the past few months, his level of play has not exactly resembled the man who helped lead Real Madrid to a La Liga title not 2 years ago. He has faded in and out of games, misplaced passes, and occasionally looked disinterested and lazy. Nonetheless, while his current run of form has been sporadic to say the least, the best of Özil is certainly yet to come.
As far as attacking midfielders go, Mesut Özil is the gold standard. The silky German possess all the traits necessary to thrive in such a role, and has proved his worth countless times in the past. For starters, he has unrivaled vision, enabling him to spot near invisible channels and executing his passes with pin-point precision. His positional sense is excellent, and his unpredictable movement creates vast amounts space for his teammates to operate. In addition, while scoring is not a focal point of his game, he is able to use his intelligence and athleticism to contribute a solid goal return every season. Özil’s brilliance is displayed in the way he excels at both the physical and cerebral aspects of the game. Not many players are blessed with the attacking prowess he possesses, and he has displayed hints of that since his move last September. However, there are a couple of factors that explain why he hasn’t fully settled in just yet.
One reason why Özil has yet to hit his peak is due to his need to adapt to England. The Premier League is universally known as an incredibly tough league for new players to become acclimated with. Whether it be the open, end to end style of play, physically demanding nature or generally high level of competition, new signings often need up to a year to fully adapt. Özil is no exception. The German has shown that he has yet to become comfortable with the physicality of the Premier League, and has looked out of sorts in recent games as a result. While his run of poor forms looks worrisome at the moment, it shouldn’t be an issue in the long run. Özil possesses the strength, stamina and technique to fully adapt to the high octane style of English football, and looks likely to show that in the upcoming months. A key example to reference when discussing this topic is Arsenal legend Robert Pires. The French maestro joined the club from Marseille in 2000, and started his Gunners career with mixed results. While his talent was clearly evident, he also appeared to have slight problems adapting to the pace of the league. Pires went on to become one of the best players in Premier League history, helping the Gunners to countless honors in the process.
Özil has shown glimpses of his brilliance many times during his spell at Arsenal, but he likely needs a year to adapt before he will be able to do so consistently.
Another reason why Özil’s best is yet to come is the players he has surrounding him. At Madrid, he was at his most comfortable during counter attacks, using his telescopic vision to pick out runners as they hurtled in behind the defense. From Ronaldo to Benzema to Di Maria, Özil was blessed with a plethora of speedy attackers he could pick out with a delightfully weighted through ball. However at Arsenal, the style of football differs from that of Madrid’s. The Gunners tend to play at a slower pace, and focus more on possession and link up play around the box. As a result, Özil has spent most of his time flanked by two attacking midfielders, with Olivier Giroud occupying the strikers role ahead of him.
While this setup has lead to some absolutely breathtaking football, the lack of runners has played a key role in Özil’s poor run of form. Players like Cazorla and Giroud tend to focus more on intricate build up play and one touch combinations than making runs, rendering Özil near useless in transition. In fact, the only Arsenal attacker that seems to fit these parameters is Theo Walcott, who went down with a season ending injury last month. If Arsenal are to get the best out of Özil, they will need to surround him with pacy runners. The return of Theo Walcott will be a massive boost for the German, but Arsene Wenger will need to dip into the transfer market as well.
Regardless, the signing of Mesut Özil certainly wasn’t an ill advised move for Arsenal. He may have looked shaky at times, but he has shown many signs that he will adapt to and thrive in the Premier League. What he needs most is time to settle in coupled with a few more runners, and there is no reason to think Arsene Wenger won’t provide him with both. Özil is not the first player to experience a rocky start in their first Premier League season, and he certainly won’t be the last. The German superstar’s best is yet to come, and the results will be staggering when it does.
