How would you rate the £42m playmaker’s first six months in the Premier League…?
Arsenal broke their transfer record to bring in Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid on summer deadline day for £42m, making the German the Premier League’s most expensive ever import.
He quickly became the biggest shirt seller in the country, too, and has been virtually ever present for a Gunners outfit who topped the table until this weekend’s humiliation at the hands of Liverpool.
During the match, Ozil was criticised relentlessly on Twitter, with many fans questioning whether he’s actually lived up to his mammoth price tag…
MISSING: Mesut Ozil! Will most likely be found in John Flanagan’s pocket!
— Joe Lowe (@Joe_Lowe2812) February 8, 2014
His performance was undeniably poor, but we’ve decided to have a look at his statistics this season to form a more accurate opinion of the German’s season so far…
Goals & assists:
Ozil has not scored many goals in the Premier League, although he is one of the leading assist makers in the competition. He’s bagged four, which is the same as teammate Santi Cazorla, but half the number Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey managed, who actually plays from a deeper position.
He has made eight goals for teammates though, which is only second to Wayne Rooney in the league. Over the past five seasons, no player in Europe has created more goals for teammates than Ozil, so it’s perhaps no surprise to see he’s made so many goals for his teammates.
Passing:
Ozil averages 65.8 passes every match, which is more than any Arsenal player apart from Ramsey, who makes over 70 every game. It’s also the fifth most in the Premier League, and he does so at a fairly impressive 88% completion ratio. This is admirable considering the fact Ozil plays high up the field, and is consistently trying to create chances.
Most impressively however, is his 2.8 key passes per match. This is by the far most in the Arsenal squad, and is only bettered in the league by Liverpool’s Luis Suarez and Manchester City’s David Silva – elite company indeed…
Dribbling & crossing:
Ozil is much more known for his slick passes than his running with the ball, but his 1.6 completed dribbles every match is only bettered by Jack Wilshere in the Gunners squad. In terms of Premier League playmakers, it’s actually very high, and only Coutinho, Ross Barkley and Ravel Morrison have averaged more in matches this term.
He’s put in 81 crosses this season, but only 27 of them have reached a teammate…
Defensive contribution:
Very little, to be fair.
He averages less than one tackle every match, 0.2 interceptions per game, and only 0.1 clearances…
He’s in the side for what he contributes creatively, but Arsenal fans will probably hope he starts to do more work when his side are not in possession of the football…
Analysis:
While the German could have scored more, his creativity and passing has actually been as good as anything in the Premier League…
His defensive contribution is virtually zero though, so when he has a bad game attacking wise, his lack of work-rate is all the more noticeable.
To improve, Ozil needs to get himself on the score sheet more regularly, and help his team win the ball back far more often…
Creatively though, he’s probably lived up to expectations.
(All stats used courtesy of WhoScored.)
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