One of the best assisters in the world, Mesut Ozil’s career at Arsenal hasn’t taken off like it had when he was at Real Madrid. The German World Cup winner has always had the tools to become one of the best in the Premier League and even started his Arsenal career in great touch but that faded away as his first season progressed.
When he signed for Arsenal in 2013 for a reported fee of £42.4 million, this was seen as the first ever bank breaking signing from Arsene Wenger, though his other big money signing, Alexis Sanchez has become an instant hit with the Arsenal faithful, Mesut Ozil is finally producing the goods for Arsenal this season.
The German is back to his best
Many have suggested that Ozil doing so well at the moment is thanks to the pace and movement of Sanchez and Walcott. Giroud does provide another dimension to Arsenal but the pace the other players have to burn stretches defenders and allows Ozil to pick his pass.
Ozil currently leads the Premier League in terms of assists with seven from just nine games but it isn’t just the final ball which he is getting right this season, his overall game, at least when passing the ball is certainly better than it was last season.
Ozil has an incredible pass accuracy of 88% which might not be the highest in the league but it certainly is at the top end of the charts, but his key passes is the stat that seems to be the real reason why Ozil is turning heads. The German has an astounding 35 key passes from just nine games in the league. That is an incredible stat for a player who was often drifting in and out of games, certainly something has clicked for him at Arsenal and that could be the signing of Sanchez.
Ozil was used to playing with other world class players at Real Madrid and that was missing at Arsenal for quite a while, especially when the likes of Walcott, Ramsey and Wilshere were growing in their roles. Arsenal never really had enough of world class quality when Ozil first signed but this all has changed this season.
Sanchez is playing out of his skin but so is everyone else at Arsenal. It seems to be the perfect time for the Gunners as nothing can go wrong. Even Ozil has scored a few important goals such as the one against Bayern Munich and Manchester United, his movement is back and he seems to be at the right place at the right time.
Mesut Ozil is a mercurial talent and as long as he plays to his ability, he will be one of the best players in the league. Ensuring that he stays in this sort of form will be a tough ask for Arsene Wenger but with all his guns blazing, this could be the season where Mesut Ozil evolves from a playmaker to a game changer for Arsenal.