The Premier League is finally seeing the real Mesut Özil. When Arsenal smashed their club transfer record fee, paying £42.4m to get one of the best & finest players in Europe, the football world was in complete shock. Several players from the Spanish giants disapproved his departure – Sergio Ramos said if he was in the management of the club Özil would be the last player he would sell; Cristiano Ronaldo was reportedly angry when he heard the news that his partner in crime (the playmaker provided 27 assists for the Portuguese star in only three seasons together) was shown the exit door.
LANDMARK – Mesut Özil has now made 100 League assists in his career. Bundesliga (31), La Liga (47), Premier League (22).
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzilStats) October 31, 2015
Mesut Özil arrived in north London and he fit in like a glove; his impact was hugely noticed as he helped Arsenal stay on the top of the Premier League table for a long time, until injuries (unsurprisingly) haunted the players. Özil’s first season in a stronger and physically speaking much harder league couldn’t get any tougher without Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey alongside him. However, it was his signing which gave a boost to Arsenal’s players performing better – Kieran Gibbs told the media after Mesut’s first months and training sessions how impressed his team-mates were with the former Real Madrid’s quality and they needed to step up and help him. And that showed some results: Arsenal won their first trophy in nine years after securing the FA Cup. His first season was all about adaptation and in the second campaign, fans expected a better Mesut Özil. Unfortunately it only happened in the other half of the season because of an injury, & Arsenal went on to conquer the FA Cup for a second season in a row. Now, in his third season with the Gunners, Mesut Özil has hit the weights of world-class exhibitions; he is winning games, delivering many assists & is the main man and protagonist of Arsène Wenger’s side. Examining Arsenal’s recent matches, there are some reasons for Özil’s phenomenal form: a full pre-season, Santi Cazorla’s positional adjustment & Arsenal’s prolificacy in front of goal. A pre-season helps players get a good rhythm before the competitions throughout the campaign ahead. Özil didn’t have an international tournament to worry about either, so he could rest and be fit enough for the beginning of the nitty-gritty stuff. When Mesut Özil was injured, Santi Cazorla started in the No.10 position and played out of his skin. Because of his form, many questioned where the returning Özil would play. Knowing both players were essential for the team’s success, Arsène Wenger played Santi Cazorla as a central-midfielder and Mesut Özil in the central-attacking-midfielder role. Initially, the pair worked exceptionally well, but there were games when Özil had to drop too deep to receive the ball due to Cazorla’s inexperience in the position. During pre-season and first matches of the new season, it was possible to notice Wenger had adjusted Santi’s posture on the field: his main task would be the first pass; make the transition from defence to attack & find Alexis Sánchez on the left flank or Mesut Özil between the lines. This automatically pushes Özil higher up to the pitch – there, the mercurial playmaker is vital, creating chances and having the opportunity to enter into the opposition box and take shots or make the final pass. Thus far this season, Mesut Özil is recording incredible numbers. Never in his career has he had a better start to a season as he’s having now. The playmaker currently has 10 assists & two goals in 18 appearances for Arsenal and his national side. If we look at the Premier League & Europe’s top five major leagues, no other player has made more assists (nine) or created more chances (47) than him. Why has he suddenly got such amazing stats? We can surely say Arsenal have been more prolific in front of goal. Let’s recall last season: In the Premier League, Özil created 70 chances & made five assists. This season, he’s created 47 with nine being converted in the league after 10 games played.
Özil’s last five club games: vs Swansea: 2 assists vs Everton: 1 assist vs Bayern: 1 goal vs Watford: 2 assists vs United: 1 goal, 1 assist
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzilStats) October 31, 2015
The truth is, Özil’s creativity will always be there. With the likes of Theo Walcott and Alexis Sánchez, both supply better conditions for Özil’s type of game, not only talking about how the Chilean is a good finisher and the Englishman is rapid, it’s how they give Mesut what best suits him. Now that Theo is injured, Olivier Giroud will have to step up, and has done so. His strengths are completely different to Theo’s, but Özil has found a manner to deal with it and has set up four goals for the French striker this season. Arsenal won all of their five games in the month of October & scored 13 goals. Mesut Özil was directly involved in 8 of them, scoring two and assisting six. Özil is extremely influential in Arsenal’s way of playing, he will continue to create & if his teammates keep the accuracy, his stats will be insane and he can help bringing silverware to the Emirates by the end of the season.
OCTOBER MONTH REPORT:
Can you have a much better start to a month than a 3-0 win over Manchester United? Mesut Özil and co. absolutely trashed United within 20 minutes. A great move involving Aaron Ramsey, and Mesut Özil was in position to cross to Alexis Sánchez, who with a cheeky back-heel scored Gunners’ first. A few minutes later, Özil scored his first goal of the season and Arsenal’s second in the game. After this, Özil played two international fixtures for Germany vs. Republic Ireland and Georgia; against the former he was superb. He created 10 chances, yeah, that’s right, 10! – He also won a penalty and set up the winning goal with a fantastic defence-splitting pass to find Max Krüse. His next match was away at Watford and once again, he was incredibly efficient, providing two assists. Then, Arsenal had a big game against Bayern München in the UEFA Champions League. The Gunners had lost their previous two games in the competition and had to gain points. In an intense match, Arsenal won 2-0 and it could’ve been a lot more. It was one of the best English displays in European competitions in the last few years; the commitment and desire were both crucial. Özil, for example, played a considerable part of the match covering Alexis’ left-hand side and also in a deeper role. In the end, he was gifted with a goal for his spectacular efforts. These performances at home to United and Bayern München should finally put to bed his critics. In the Premier League against Everton, Özil made one of the best assists of the season. A perfect weighted, carefully-precise, sweet pass over the top & Giroud only had to deflect the ball into the net. A complete performance from Mesut Özil, it was. He took responsibility in the final third and bossed the game – the play when he hit the post sums it up. During the following game, against Swansea, we could easily see how important Mesut Özil is for this Arsenal team. In the first half, the German didn’t get enough on the ball and Arsenal were very poor. When Özil showed up, the team improved, with the German providing two assists. It’s no coincidence anymore that when Özil plays well, so does the team.
