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The Germany international scored the opener and was sensational in the 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday night as Arsenal kept their Champions League hopes alive
“If you love to watch football, you love to watch Mesut Ozil.”
That is Arsene Wenger’s mantra when asked about Arsenal’s most expensive ever signing, and with every passing week Ozil puts forward the case that he is the best playmaker in the world.
The German produced another masterclass in the 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night that keeps alive Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League for a 16th season in a row.
Much of the talk this season has centred around the importance of Alexis Sanchez to Arsenal’s hopes in the Premier League and Champions League, but it is Ozil who has been their main man.
He scored the opener here with a flying header and, even though Alexis added the Gunners’ second and third with close-range finishes, it is Ozil who represents Arsenal’s best chance of escaping from their Champions League group when they travel to Olympiacos on December 9.
Arsenal will need to win that match by two goals and in Ozil they boast a player who has now been involved - either with a goal or an assist - in 11 goals in his last nine appearances in all competitions.
More than that, though, he wowed this demanding north London crowd on Tuesday with his appreciation of space, the quality of his first touch and his ability to pick out the right pass almost every time.
It is the form of a world champion, a player that Jose Mourinho described as "unique" and whose sale by Real Madrid in 2013 infuriated Cristiano Ronaldo as he lost his chief provider.
There are other fantastic playmakers in world football, from David Silva and Cesc Fabregas, to Andres Iniesta and Luka Modric.
But none of them can boast the same level of productivity as Ozil in the final third, which is why he is probably the best No.10 in the world on current form.
Ozil ended the evening having hit the target with three shots and created four chances from his 48 total passes at 88 per cent accuracy. His goal came in the 29th minute with a header from Alexis’ cross to end what had, until then, been a stubborn resistance from Dinamo Zagreb.
Thereafter, Ozil took control of the game and it was over as a contest by half-time as Arsenal dominated the ball and toyed with their Croatian opponents. It seemed to bring the best out of his team-mates, too, with Joel Campbell particularly impressive on the right wing.
In the Premier League, Ozil has been winning Arsenal points with a league record of assists in seven consecutive matches and 11 in total.
Here, he reminded people that he can also score goals, just as he had in huge matches against Manchester United and Bayern Munich earlier in the season.
Wenger says that Ozil can become player of the year if he can add more goals to his game and has set his £42 million man a target of 10 for the season.
The only criticism of his performance against Dinamo Zagreb is that he could have scored more, and he twice forced Eduardo into excellent low saves in the first half.
Wenger raised a few eyebrows by deciding to keep both Ozil and Alexis on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes despite the Gunners’ current injury problems.
Ahead of Sunday’s trip to Norwich, they cannot afford to lose either of their two best players, especially with Francis Coquelin ruled out for at least two months.
Ozil is perhaps the most important of them all. He is consistently producing the form that everyone expected of him when he joined the club in 2013.
And Wenger is right. He is a joy to watch.
Goal.com
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