There’s no doubting Mesut Ozil’s quality, the doubts only arise when you ask if he can be special week in and week out.

Arsenal look like a different team under new manager Unai Emery and Ozil has had a very good start to the season. The midfielder has played in nine games so far this season and he’s scored four goals and created an assist.

He had a virtuoso like performance against Leicester City on Monday night.

The Gunners went a goal behind but Ozil kept calm and didn’t go hiding. He played in the number ten role and he saw plenty of the ball and used it majestically.

The German scored his side’s first goal just before half time. He got the ball just inside the Foxes half, driving forward with it before releasing Hector Bellerin on the right flank. The Spanish full back then cut a pass back into the middle of the opponent’s penalty area. Without taking a touch, Ozil just used the ball’s pace and expertly steered it in off the post. The concentration and the ability to control the effort was phenomenal by Ozil.

For Arsenal’s second, it was Mesut’s vision and his ability to play the right pass that unlocked the Leicester defence and allowed Bellerin to get free and slip in the final ball to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to score. The attacking midfielder’s pass was so cute and sublime that it took out most of Leicester City’s defence. It was a stunning ten out of ten pass, the weight of it was absolutely perfect!

Ozil then started off the third and final goal with a nice lay off on the halfway line. He charges forward, he then steps over the ball as it’s played towards the penalty area, Alexandre Lacazette plays it into Mesut’s stride as Foxes goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel tries to come out and narrow the angle. Ozil shows great awareness as he knows the Dane is coming at him and instead of shooting on sight, he clips it wonderfully beyond the goalie and into Aubameyang’s path and the striker taps it into an empty net.

The midfielder almost got another assist late on but French striker Lacazette fluffed his lines.

When Ozil is that majestic, he can be unplayable. He made sixty-seven passes and had a 93% passing success rate (four of which were key passes). He also completed two dribbles and won two tackles. Interestingly when you look at Mesut Ozil’s heat map, it shows that he took the ball in deep positions and he also went out to the wings at various times too. It’s extremely difficult to pick up a number ten if he freely goes wherever he wants on the pitch.

It’s great that Arsenal have now won ten games in a row, seven in the Premier League. They’re occupying fourth place in the table and are just two points off leaders Manchester City. It certainly looks like the team have bought into Emery’s way of thinking and Ozil is showing once again that he can be a difference maker.

What the club and their influential number ten need to do now is show that they can take this form into the bigger games. The Gunners have tough games against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United coming up before the Christmas period. Mesut Ozil has been found wanting in those fixtures previously as Arsenal have been brushed aside.

If The Gunners are to become genuine title contenders and keep their spot in the Champions League places then Ozil will need to start shining in the biggest of occasions and do it consistently.

 

Posted on October 22nd, 2018 by scott
Filed under: Article