3. Mesut Ozil
Mesut Ozil’s record signing was Arsene Wenger’s record signing on the deadline day of the Summer Transfer window. The exceptionally talented German was brought into Arsenal to boss the midfield and create chances galore. Ozil seemed to do exactly that as his set-pieces and link-up play were divine in his first few games for gunners.
But shocking enough, Ozil has had a rough season thereafter. Often when Arsenal played against the title rivals, Ozil looked out of sorts and was heavily criticized for his lethargic displays. As a traditional playmaker, Ozil had no experience of extra work rate. And in Arsenal’s system of closing down opponents, Ozil seemed to be too lazy.
Despite that, Mesut Ozil’s talent has been on display and he has a fair amount of Assists to his name, most of which came in the early part of the season, after which he lost confidence while fatigue and injury hit him again and again. The fact that Ozil did not have a pre-season outing and Arsenal lacks a deep squad, meant that Ozil succumbed under pressure. But as next season looms, Ozil will thrive in a better squad and a proper pre-season.