Mesut Ozil put in another man of the match performance on Monday, scoring a goal and adding an assist in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
After initially struggling with Arsenal when he moved to North London from Real Madrid for more than $50 million in 2013, Ozil has cemented himself as one of the Premier League’s elite talents.
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With 16 assists on the season, eight more than anyone else, the German playmaker is one of the main reasons the Gunners currently sit top of the table.
Speaking after Ozil’s impressive display against Bournemouth, manager Arsene Wenger compared his play to that of Dennis Bergkamp, one of the greatest players to ever wear an Arsenal shirt.
He reminds me of Bergkamp. Bergkamp was more of a goalscorer than him and Ozil is more about assists, but now Ozil is becoming more of a goalscorer, so they are really comparable.
I have seen a few good games from Ozil. What is important is that he is convincing everyone that he is not just a very talented player, but someone who is ready to work very hard for the team.
Overall he is the complete player. I’ve not seen many players of his quality. He is an exceptional player and you have to give me credit - I always defended that point of view even when people were sceptical.
What’s important is that he becomes as good as he can be, and he is on the way to doing that. At the moment he is absolutely fantastic.
While Bergkamp scored more than 300 goals in his career, a mark Ozil won’t come anywhere near, Bergkamp served more as a playmaker during his later years at Arsenal. While Bergkamp set up the likes of Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljunberg, Ozil has done the same with Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez.
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Thierry Henry holds the record for most assists in a Premier League season with 20. With Ozil already nearing that mark just midway through the season, it is likely he will overtake the Arsenal legend in the next few matches.