Mesut Ozil is a German footballer currently playing for London club Arsenal.
Mesut Ozil:
Mesut Ozil is a German footballer currently playing for Chelsea’s London rivals, Arsenal. Arsenal signed Ozil on the deadline day of the summer 2013 window for £42.5 million from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
He was a well proven world class player with the Los Blancos and was tagged as the assist machine in La Liga. A Schalke 04’s youth academy product, Ozil established himself at Werder Bremen, where he quickly became a key player.
He joined Los Blancos in 2010 as a backup for Brazilian legend Kaka, but he proved himself to be better than Kaka and gained a regular starting spot at the club, where he played a huge role in their title triumph of the 2011–2012 season, which was a record breaking season in La Liga history.
With the Gunners, Ozil had a guaranteed starting spot in the team. In his first season with the Gunners, Ozil started 26 games in the Premier League and eight in the Champions League.
He scored five goals in the Premier League and was once on target in the Champions League, with shot accuracy of 75% and 57% in the respective competitions. Ozil is well known for the chances he creates and especially for his immense passing abilities.
He created a total 76 chances in 26 Premier League games, which averages to 2.9 chances created per game, which is an excellent record. Comparatively, in the Champions League, he created 19 chances in 8 games, for an average of 2.3 chances per game.
Defensively, Ozil is considered a weak asset to the team. He cannot track back with the ball gone. On many runs for the counter, he either suffers a foul or loses the ball.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was Ozil’s first big tournament for the country, and he started all the games for Germany, who were crowned the champions. During the tournament, Ozil made good contributions for the team and assisted two goals.
The table below shows Ozil’s work at the World Cup.
Since becoming a gunner, Ozil’s performance has degraded a lot as compared to his Real Madrid days. The reason behind this may be either a change in playing style or Arsene Wenger experimenting with Ozil in different positions.
Many have tipped Ozil to leave Arsenal. German legend and former Chelsea player Michael Ballack says Ozil should have stayed with the Los Blancos.
From the above explanations, here are some key statistics of comparison between Oscar and Ozil:
This is a comparison matrix of Oscar’s and Ozil’s performances in the Premier League so far this season. To read Oscar’s analysis, click here.
This season, Oscar has scored 1 goal so far by taking 10 shots on goal, and Ozil has scored 1 goal and attempted 5 shots on goal, while both have assisted 1 goal each. Ozil has made 13 key passes, creating 14 chances, and Oscar has made 6 key passes and created 7 chances.
From the various aspects of comparison above, we arrive at the conclusion that it is very difficult to pick the better player of the two. Ozil is very good at creating chances and assisting goals, but he lacks defensive qualities.
Oscar is very good at tackling and winning the ball, as well as tracking back after failed counter attacks. Oscar is needed on his team because of his immense defensive abilities and passing. Ozil is Arsenal’s playmaker. He creates chances for his teammates and assists goals.