Arsenal and Germany playmaker Mesut Özil wants to score more goals, and he knows just how to do that. He has scored just 12 times since he signed on deadline day of 2013, and Arsenal supporters knew when he arrived that Arsene Wenger acquired a playmaker with an eye for a pass rather than a goalscoring midfielder.
The World Cup winner is probably the best playmaker in the world, but if he can add goals to his arsenal of skills, he could become an even bigger attacking threat. The German attacking midfielder stated his ambition to Arsenal Player: “I want to score more goals than in the last two seasons and that’s my aim for this season.
“What’s important firstly is that we are successful as a team.”
He realises there could be a lack of goals if his manager does not bring in another striker, so he is taking it upon himself to help lead the charge in the scoring department. The playmaker likes to hover around the box slowly so he can find a pass, and when he gets a good chance, he sometimes passes it to a nearby teammate who he thinks has a better shot, and more often than not, it does not work. He even admitted that in his interview: “My aim is to help the team and I’ll do all I can to achieve that.
“In truth I’m more the sort of player who doesn’t really go for goal, I tend to look for my team-mates and think, ‘Can I play this pass?’”
If he does aim to score more goals, he will take the ball himself when it lands to him in the box instead to tapping it to a teammate around him. It is not necessarily a bad thing, as he has provided many assists during his time at Arsenal, but he now wants to score goals as well: “But I’m a player who thinks for the team first and not for my own needs and that’s why I will carry on to play the way I always do.
“I think that’s one of my distinguishing characteristics.”
The playmaker has proven that he can put away a free-kick like he did at home to Liverpool late last season, but he needs to prove he has strong nerves directly in front of goal. He has had his fair share of neat finishes, but has to add that one trait to his basic skill-set in order to be a legitimate duel-threat.
Another issue regarding his lack of goals is his mindset and the fact he would rather help a teammate then take a great chance: “I think now and then I need to become a bit more selfish – then I’d definitely score more goals,” said Ozil.
At the end of the day, there is only one thing that matters in football: winning. As long as Mesut Özil does all he can to help Arsenal win, his supporters and manager will all be happy. All he wants to do is help the team by doing whatever he can: “That’s most crucial for us and as I said, for me it’s not just goals and assists that mean everything, what’s more important is that we’re successful as a team.”
Özil wants to see his club build on their consecutive triumphs in the FA Cup from the past two seasons, and he will be a key component to the squad if the north Londoners want to press on and win more silverware. If he can help the team tick and place his passes accurately, and, as he said, score more goals, he will certainly be doing his job. The already plenty talented German only wants to build upon his skills, and that is dangerous for anyone who will face Arsenal in the near future.
After suffering from a rough start at the Gunners, he finally looks to be turning the corner and achieving the form that he had at Real Madrid, which made him the best in the world at what he did. Adding goals to his basic arsenal could put him into the highest echelons of players once again.
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