Today marks two years since the decisive deadline day transfer where Arsenal confirmed the purchase of German International Mesut Özil from Real Madrid for an approximate £42.5 million. The transfer submitted the attacking midfielder as the worlds most expensive German and also Arsenal’s most expensive player ever. In his first two seasons at Arsenal he established himself as a key member to the Arsenal team, creating approximately 140 chances with 14 assists and 9 league goals in 48 league appearances.
Arsenal have been known to make last minute signings in the past with names such as: Andrey Arshavin, Mikel Arteta and Nacho Monreal joining the Gunners late on. Mesut Özil was no different as he completed his Arsenal transfer with just thirty three minutes left till the final deadline.
Mesut Özil made an immediate impression to English football following his debut for the Gunners in a successful 3-1 victory versus Sunderland; giving an assist to Olivier Giroud just after 11 minutes and producing more chances in the game. Özil continued to show his quality to his new team by producing 6 assists and 2 goals in his first 10 league games. In addition to his contribution to his team in the league, the playmaker also helped in the Champions League and FA Cup.
Since 2005, Arsenal failed to win a major trophy including a Champions League defeat in 2006 and losing Football League Cup finals in 2007 and 2011. The signing of Mesut Özil boosted the overall mentality of the squad by pushing them to the top of the table for months and helping to end the trophy drought with a famous 3-2 victory AET against Hull City in the FA Cup final.
A unique player with a large amount of creativity and excellent vision, strong and key passing ability, Özil ended the season with an approximate 88% pass success rate along with nine assists. He proved to be a success in his debut season for Arsenal and quickly became a fan favourite at the club, with his shirt being the most bought shirt in England for the 2013/14 league season.
During the Summer, Özil was selected for Germany’s World Cup squad alongside team mates Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski. Özil was one of the biggest names at the 2010 World Cup and guided Germany to third place. He secured the joint most amount of assists and was nominated for the Golden Ball Award. Pressure was applied on the German to see if he could have replicate the impact like he did 4 years prior.
Özil started all of Germany’s games on route to the final, scoring once and producing two assists. However, he was arguably the most criticised player of the tournament with some critics wanting him to be dropped for the World Cup final. Despite the large amount of criticism placed on him, Özil had more: total passes, key passes, chances created, and passing completion percentage than hailed players of the tournament such as Neymar and James Rodriguez. Germany manager Joachim Löw did not listen to the critics and started Özil in the final versus Argentina which they won 1-0 AET.
A talent like Mesut Özil at the club along with a new desire for silverware following the end of the trophy drought gave confidence to the Arsenal team and Arsene Wenger himself as they entered the new 2014/15 league season. Wenger’s biggest signing came in Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona. Özil now had another world class player alongisde him to help lead attacks, something the Gunners lacked in the season prior.
Özil’s second season for Arsenal proved to be difficult for him to do better than the last. He missed the start of the season including Arsenal’s 3-0 victory versus Manchester City in the Community Shield because he needed extra rest following the World Cup. In addition to this, the German was out of action for around 3 months with a leg injury. One positive the injury gave him was that he was able to build up his physique in order to get stronger and challenge for the ball more. Regardless of missing time out, he recorded four goals and five assists in the twenty two league games he played that season.
One of Özil’s best games in an Arsenal shirt also came in the 2014/15 season where the Gunners beat Liverpool 4-1. With a 89% pass completion rate, 3 chances created and a superb free kick goal, he ran the show and showed how much quality he has a football player. He was also an important player in retaining the FA Cup for Arsenal and has never lost a game at Wembley Stadium. Another great display came from Özil as he started in the 4-0 FA Cup victory over Aston Villa. The German ran the show with his intelligence and regardless of where he was on the pitch, he always looked for an opening that could lead onto a potential goal.
Consequently, ever since his transfer to Arsenal, the German has been left in the centre of controversy with many critics judging the £42.5 million price that Arsene Wenger paid for him. “Overrated” and “lack of passion” are two of the many words that critics have used to describe the attacker. Although his goals and assists at Arsenal do not appear to look to be that impressive for a player of his quality, Özil’s overall intelligence and passing has been some of the best seen in recent years. Furthermore, despite being branded “lazy” by some critics, Özil was also recorded to have had one of the highest distances covered for his team with just over 10km.
At the age of 26, the German still has many more years to his career with many more goals to achieve. The Mesut Özil Story is still being written.
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John Smith 