2015 was the best year of Mesut Özil’s career.
When you go through his stats in the calendar year (nine goals and 26 assists) you’ll be impressed that it isn’t the year he has got the most assists (2013; he provided 30), but as is often said, numbers don’t show the bigger picture. Since 2015, Mesut Özil has consistently been playing first-class football – either it’s running the game in the final third, creating tons of opportunities, getting into the box searching for goals or helping in the build-up of the play (mostly in the second part of the last season) and in the tactical role to compact the midfield in games such as vs. Bayern München at the Emirates Stadium – and his fabulous form doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon. This form is also because he isn’t getting injuries and can regularly play.
Checking his first two seasons at the north London club, Özil was performing at a good level, especially in 2013 but injuries allowed for no consistency. Arsène Wenger has, on countless occasions, praised Özil, saying that the German international has become the complete player and it is no doubt this is true. Mesut Özil plays an integral part in this team and you clearly notice the downgrade in quality when he isn’t on the field. He is a technical leader and his creativity, vision, passing accuracy and the ability to spot teammates from anywhere makes us think that the ball must has to go by his feet if Arsenal want to do the business: a mind-boggling stat proves it – 55% of Arsenal’s 34 Premier League goals this term have been scored or assisted by Özil (three goals and 16 assists).
Twitter: Özil in Europe’s top five leagues this season:
– Most assists (16)
– Most chances created (80)
– Most clear-cut chances created (21) (@MesutOzilStats)
A constant question was Özil needed to perform in the important games to be the difference, and he has done absolutely brilliantly in meetings against Manchester United, City, Spurs and Bayern. Arsenal scored nine goals against them, with Özil scoring or assisting six of them. Actually, the German has scored or assisted against 14 of the 19 clubs he has faced in the Premier League this term, including all of the other top six teams
During December, Özil collected several awards; PFA Player of the Month, Arsenal Player of the Month and Best German Abroad of 2015. He also a couple of records; quickest player to hit 15 Premier League assists in a season and most assists in a single Premier League calendar year (20).
Unlike some legendary players who led their teams to the league titles with goals, Özil doesn’t like the glory for himself, he is a selfless, team player. With teammates around him, understanding that and taking advantage of his perfectly-timed passes and movement off the ball, Arsenal have one of their best chances to grab the Premier League trophy for a very long time.
December Report
Özil started December against Sunderland in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium, setting up Joel Campbell’s goal with a well-paced through-ball. The German playmaker continued with his stupendous run in the Gunners’ crucial clash away at Olympiacos; he was involved in all three goals scored by Olivier Giroud which saw Arsenal advancing to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Özil provided yet again another assist when Arsenal traveled to Aston Villa; Aaron Ramsey made a perfect tackle, Theo Walcott gave a clever ball to the 27-year-old who only had to put it on a plate for Ramsey, finishing a great team goal. Özil impressed once more against Manchester City, delivering two assists and was named the Barclays Man of the Match. Unfortunately bad games will happen here and there and Özil and co. couldn’t do the wonders away at Southampton, suffering an embarrassing 4-0 defeat. Thankfully for the Arsenal crowd, in the final game of the year against Bournemouth, the team had a great response. Özil unsurprisingly was the stand-out performer with an assist for Gabriel and a fantastic goal after a one-two & a flick by Giroud. Özil also created a staggering nine chances in the game, a shame that Walcott wasn’t wearing his scoring boots, if so, Mesut could’ve well broken Thierry’s Henry that night!
