Now that Mesut Ozil appears close to ending his stay at Arsenal, social media is now scrutinising his Gunners career.
And the question is simple – was he a success in red and white?
It is easy to be blinded either way. His time with us was full of contrasts. In terms of highs, he matched the record for Premier League assists. His arrival was paralleled with the ending of Arsenal’s nine year trophy drought – winning the FA Cup in 2014. Ozil won three in all and accrued 77 assists in more than two hundred games.
Then we come to the last two years. Frozen out, seemingly given chances by two managers to adapt to new regimes but unable to. Even under Wenger, the coach who respected him the most and gave him leeway – Ozil repeatedly missed away games and training with mysterious issues.
At times, he was sublime. Some of his assists were out of this world and true evidence of the truly exceptional talent he possessed. His backheel assist for Giroud against Aston Villa. His goal against Ludogorets. His assist and goal against Leicester. He made you drop your jaw at times.
Which makes the rest of his career at times even more contrasting. Aside from a season and a half, he never did it consistently. He never changed games as often as he could and when compared to other players who had the same talent – he fell in comparison.
Even in comparison to some of the other Emirates-era players, he pales when up next to them. Santi Cazorla nearly always had an impact on games. Even when shunted out to the wing, he still made a difference. He even adapted himself to new demands by forging a solid partnership in central midfield.
Then there was Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean delivered incredible numbers in our shirt and left in acrimonious circumstances – but looking back we still know that Alexis was special.
The same can’t be said for Ozil.
It is because he had so much talent but never fulfilled that potential on a regular basis.
So farewell Ozil. In the end you should’ve left as a legend. But leaving works out best for both parties.