How Mesut Ozil has fared since returning from his ligament injury? by SE
Mesut Ozil returned to action during Arsenal’s 3-0 home win over Stoke City in the early part of January, after recovering from the knee ligament injury he suffered at Stamford Bridge last October.
Since returning to action, the German playmaker has looked a better player than he was at the beginning of this season. He seems to have been invigorated by the 3-month layoff he endured while nursing the ligament injury, and has had a positive impact on Arsenal’s Barclays Premier League campaign and progression into the last four of this season’s FA Cup, where they will be facing Reading in April. In this article, we take a closer look at how the former Los Blancos playmaker has fared since returning to action for the Gunners.
Ozil has averaged a pass accuracy of over 85% in the 8 Premier League games he has played in since returning to action. During the same period: the 26-year old German has created 21 goal scoring chances, averaging close to 3 chances per game. Ozil has also completed his fair share of take-ons, beating defenders with his trickery and movement; the Arsenal playmaker has had a take-on success rate of 67% in close to 10-and-a half-hours of Premier League action. The German has come up with a couple of league goals too, although none of those goals have directly resulted in earning points for his team.
In the 3 FA Cup games against Brighton, Middlesborough and Manchester United, Ozil’s form has been equally good as his league form. He has averaged a pass accuracy of 89% in the cup competition, in addition to completing 6 of his 10 attempted take-ons. He also scored a goal for Arsenal against Brighton in the 4th round of the FA Cup.
Overall, it has been a good couple of months for Ozil since returning to action from his ligament injury. His return has coincided with Arsenal enjoying very good results in the league, as well as in the FA Cup. The only real negativity to Ozil’s return has been his failure to stand up in the big games against Manchester United in the FA Cup and AS Monaco in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League at the Emirates. Ozil’s performances, with Arsenal yet to face the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and the Red Devils in the second round of Premier League fixtures, will be crucial to his side’s chances of winning those games.
Suhith