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Mesut Ozil Winning the Ballon D’Or at Arsenal isn’t Unrealistic

By Josh Sippie

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Mesut Ozil recently said in an interview (via the Guardian) that he believes he can take home the Ballon D’Or in the future at Arsenal, beating out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, among a host of other world class athletes.

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“If I continue to develop well and stay healthy, I would like, in the next few years, to hold the Ballon D’Or in my hands,” he told Sport Bild. “I am convinced that it can happen.”

He went on to comment about how the Premier League is going to make the dream even more possible. “I’m feeling very positive. I’m a world champion and I play at a top club in the Premier League. There is much more of a physical test here than there is in Spain or in the Bundesliga – I constantly have bruises, but that makes me harder. I feel physically better than ever.”

It’s nice to see confidence oozing from a player that we once thougwht had none. But confidence is one thing, is it even a plausible dream?

During the three years Mesut Ozil spent at Real Madrid, he became the most creative midfielder in all of Europe. Since the 2009/10 season and prior to signing with Arsenal, Ozil notched 60 league assists, which was the best in all of Europe’s top five leagues. He also created 62 “big chances,” second only to Lionel Messi’s 65 (BSSports). He created 417 overall chances in that time, good for tops in the world as well.

But that was La Liga. We all know he’s had a tough go of the Premier League since that 2013 move. He’s gotten better by leaps and bounds, especially as of late, but is he ready to be mentioned in the Ballon D’Or category?

In case you missed that famous tweet from OptaJoe, here it is again:

As you can see, Mesut Ozil is statistically the third most creative midfielder in Premier League history; all in spite of his spotty start.

Also, as of March 2nd, Mesut Ozil was tied for the second most assists in the Premier League since his arrival – second only to Cesc Fabregas (via the Metro).

Just think, all these Premier League landmarks and the experts still say he isn’t hitting the height of his potential. He’s still said to lack that Premier League spark. And yet he continues wracking up assists at record pace.

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Mesut Ozil is absolutely right. He can win the Ballon D’Or. His stats already put him in the vicinity of the conversation, all he needs to do is round out his defensive contribution and physicality (maybe a bit of shooting as well) and he’ll finally be properly adjudged as one of the best yet again, this time in the hardest league in the world.

With Ozil only being 26 years old, he still has a handful of years to bring in the prestigious award, and I fully think he can do it. Stats never tell the full story, but these stats are demonstrative. He’s been one of the best in the world since his time at Real Madrid, and all those that claim he was only good because he was feeding Cristiano Ronaldo can now feast on the fact that he’s putting up crazy assist numbers in the Premier League as well.

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