Mesut Özil may have been the most enigmatic name in the world of football for the past few months. During his time injured, Özil shared opinions about his performances. Like it’s been since joining Arsenal – the truth is, Özil will never please everyone. While many rate him as one of the finest players in the game, with his ability to make clinical passes and open spaces, or his movements off the ball that give his teammates the opportunity to find him free, others call him lazy and a defensive liability.
His price tag didn’t help either – £42.5m was payed to Real Madrid for his services. This lead to big expectations within the Arsenal fan base, some of which were perhaps a bit unrealistic. Özil had never been his side’s main player. In fact he’s always been the co-star, a role he prefers to fill. He’s previously said that he prefers to assist instead of scoring several times. In Spain he played behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, two of the best supporting forwards for a player like Özil. Ronaldo was the guy who could finish almost every precise pass from the German in Real Madrid’s deadly counter-attack system, however it was Benzema who helped ease his creative burden. The Frenchman loves to play outside the box, with short passes and one-two’s. He was the perfect striker for Özil, differing from the target man approach of Olivier Giroud.
With the arrival of Alexis Sánchez and the return of Theo Walcott, we can expect a better Özil. The Chilean has been Arsenal’s main man this season, which will surely help. He’ll have a reference point in the attack, and a world class player to play with. Regardless, I believe Arsenal supporters should be more excited about the Özil-Walcott duo. The two have started together only 6 times, and have registered 7 goals and 2 assists combined in these games. Theo’s second-striker type runs and pace are something any no. 10 in the world would love to have. How can we not remember of Özil’s penetrating through balls to Walcott on his debut against Sunderland? In conclusion, Wenger has bought a very unique player, who can either be worth the entire fee or very frustrating. It all depends on how and with whom he’ll be played.
– JANUARY MONTH REPORT: Mesut Özil returned to action against Stoke City on January 11th after his injury. He played only 20 minutes, but we could see signs of his talent. He even put on muscle during his absence, looking notably bulkier. Wenger said Özil worked incredibly hard to come back, and was hungry to play. However Özil was not 100% fit, and Arsene decided not to play him in Arsenal’s 2-0 win vs. Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Mesut Özil finally made his first start for Arsenal after 112 days out, against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup. He tallied a fine display and scored his second goal of the season, both away from home. The German extended his unbeaten record in the competition, winning all six games he’s played and contributing two goals and two assists. An important note on Özil’s goal vs Brighton: Rosicky’s assist was fantastic, but Özil knew he could be found there, getting in between the lines. It’s not the first time he’s done that, one of his attributes that’s gone unnoticed by his critics.
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