When Mesut Ozil was signed by Arsenal a couple of years ago, the German play maker had formed a reputation as being the king of the assists with his creative talents at both Werder Bremen of the Bundesliga and Real Madrid of La Liga, as well as his stunning performances for the Germany national side.
But his first two seasons as an Arsenal player were not quite as effective and we had to look closer into what he offers the team to really appreciate the languid looking midfielder. His performances this season are starting to change that though, even though he is not top of the Premier League assist chart, at least not yet.
That could soon change though, as only Hoolahan of Norwich (5) and Silva of Man City (6) have more than Ozil´s four and the Arsenal strikers are not squandering so many chances these days. And a Metro report shows that the German has so far been the most creative player in Europe this season with his key passes. It certainly looks like Ozil is getting back to his very best and that is great news for Arsenal fans, but what is the reason?
Judging by the German´s words reported by The Mirror about his best mate at the Emirates Mathieu Flamini, I think the combative midfielder could be helping.
Ozil said, “I have a really good understanding with Mathieu.
“He’s a guy who always gives 100 per cent on the pitch but when he’s off the pitch, he’s a player who makes a lot of jokes and gets on well with a lot of his team-mates.
“He’s just a great guy with whom I have a lot of fun.
“As I said, we’re just pleased to have him in this team.
“He’s been rewarded for his strong showings and those goals were of course sensational.
“[Volleys like that] are really difficult. Sometimes when you see players connect with them, the goalkeepers save the shot or they miss the target.
“Mathieu caught his perfectly and scored a wonderful goal, especially because it was the winner.”
So while Ozil is happy for his pal, it had looked as though Flamini might be leaving in the summer and had certainly been on the fringes of the squad. Now that he is firmly back in favour, could that be helping Ozil to relax and produce the sublime football that we have been seeing?