One of the big talking points at the start of the season for Arsenal fans and football pundits was the form, or lack of it, of the club record signing Mesut Ozil. According to some of his critics, the World Cup winner just did not care and his easy manner on the pitch was just not suited to the English Premier League.
Now as much as that may have been too hasty a verdict and too much of a knee jerk reaction to a few below par games, it is also too son to say that the real Mesut Ozil is back and that the German international is about to set the world on fire. But there are great signs for Arsenal fans.
If it was not for the excellent goal scoring performance of the young Gunner Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil would have claimed his second Man of the Match award in a row, at least according to the players stats on whoscored.com. With a 92 percent pass completion rate and with most of those in the opposing half, Ozil also had the most successful dribbles and was a threat all day.
Ozil was most effective after the break when Ramsey’s injury meant he moved back into the middle, but even before that he was doing well on the flanks. Following on from a goal and an assist at Aston Villa, does this mean that Wenger was right about us merely needing to have patience with the playmaker after his extended summer in Brazil?
And with Welbeck and Ozil forging an understanding, while Alexis looks like he is well worth the money, could Arsenal be on the verge of goals galore?