Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil has been crowned the German Player of the Year for 2016, but is currently being overshadowed by his contract situation.
The 28 year-old picked up the award for best German Player of 2016 this week, his fifth time winning the award of the last six seasons, beating 2014 winner Toni Kroos to the title.
Ozil amazingly picked up over 50% of the votes for the award, which is astounding when you consider the masses of Deutsche stars who could have rivalled him, including Jerome Boateng, Toni Kroos, Phillipe Lahm, Thomas Muller, Marco Reus and many others.
Whilst picking up his award, he talked about how comfortable he is in North-London, whilst also revealing how he has grown over the past year whilst with our beloved club.
He said: “I’ve simply arrived in the Premier League since last season.
“I’ve remained injury-free for the most part and I feel very comfortable in London now as well.”
“As one of the more experienced players in the team, I try to pass on advice to the younger players. Even if I’m not the most vocal player on the pitch, my voice is heard in the team. And I try to help our younger players every day.
“I’ve changed a few things in my life this past year, for example my diet and my training. That helps me to regenerate fast after games and it reduces the chance of getting injured.”
The German has talked up his happiness with our club for some time, and we are certainly aware that he is a key player for us.
Certain rival fans have moved to try and target Ozil for his ‘below-par’ performances this term, because he hasn’t been credited with the assists he was last season, but he has been chipping in with goals, and still remains very-much a key player in our starting XI.
Is Ozil as important to our club as Alexis Sanchez?