Arsenal FC – Mesut Ozil Vs Aaron Ramsey, Who Has Been The Better Player This Season?

A statistical comparison between Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil this season

Last night performance by the Arsenal understudies against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup might not have pleased Arsene Wenger but the former French Economics Professor must have no complaints regarding the start to the season the Gunners have had in the Premier League so far.  While Aaron Ramsey has been terrific with one of my friends saying, “He is playing as he must have been possessed by Zidane’s spirit.”

Mesut Ozil on the other hand has looked to be worth every penny of his record  £42m signing. The former Real Madrid man has added a new dimension to the Arsenal midfield which has looked to be charged in full gear in the season. So we here at Soccersouls decided to provide our readers a detailed comparison of two of Arsenal’s most important players this season.

Going by stats Ramsey has four assists to his credit in this EPL campaign, whereas Ozil has just one less. This goes to show how well the German has fit into the London side which gives them a renewed belief to lifting silverware after a barren drought of almost eight years. If we have gone by the key passes, Ozil leads his team mate and Welshman Ramsey by a figure of 16 to 9. In terms of goals Ramsey however has five compared to Ozil’s just two, which is bound to get better in numbers as the season prolongs.

 

The German however has a better shot accuracy when it comes to hitting the target with his shots being 88% in the right direction. While Ramsey has been on target definitely more than Ozil, his shot accuracy stands precariously low at just 68%, something which Arsene Wenger needs to work on as the campaign changes gear, when it might be decided by the tiniest of margins.

Ramsey however has a better passing stats to his credit with around 500 successful passes compared to Ozil’s 350 odd. At ball retention however, the German outshines his teammate and is much composed on the ball compared to Ramsey who is prone to give the ball away, something which was quite visible in the Champions League fixture against Borussia Dortmund and Crystal Palace in the weekend at Selhurst Park.

Arsene Wenger’s biggest credit however lies on motivating Ramsey to win the ball back and make the Welshman aware of his defensive responsibilities and stoic discipline to help his defence when the opposition are on a rampage. Sadly we haven’t seen this in Ozil’s game right from when he was Werder Bremen or Real Madrid. The Welshman is also a clear winner when it comes to the 50-50 tackles to regain possession. On an average, Ramsey wins 45% of his aerial headers and also is more fouled compared to Ozil. The German however is more of an aerial threat winning 67% of his duels.

What has been another key feature of both the players, is their way of passing the ball forward (Shown in the above iamges). They both have made 36 and 39 successful long passes forward which would be relishing for the strikers.

Arsenal have had a terrific start to the season, with now also Santi Cazorla back and Podolski and Walcott’s comebacks looking imminent, it might not be long before Arsenal do reclaim their lost glory.

All Stats Taken from Squawka