Arsenal: What Has Mesut Ozil Become?

After three years at the club what has Mesut Ozil meant to Arsenal? Has he been worth his record breaking price tag?

After three years, 126 appearances and a combined 66 goals and assists, Mesut Ozil has become one of Arsenal‘s marquee players. Similar to the North London club that he represents, Ozil has had his fair share of ups and downs.

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Now that Ozil’s contract renewal is a hot topic of debate, it is a good time to assess his evolution at the club. Ozil is certainly a world class player but what does he mean to Arsenal specifically?

When Mesut Ozil signed for Arsenal from Real Madrid for £42.5 million there was obviously a considerable amount of hype. It’s no secret that Ozil was essentially forced out with the arrival of Gareth Bale in the Spanish capitol. Ozil arrived at Arsenal a relatively sullen figure. However, that is understandable. After leading all of Europe in assists and being a focal part of one of the perennial football super powers, Ozil took a step down to join the Gunners.

That may be a tough pill to swallow, but as fans we must be realistic. At the onset of Ozil’s tenure in North London it was obvious that Arsenal needed Mesut far more than he needed Arsenal. Ozil was a symbol for us. He was the first big money signing that marked Arsenal’s escape from their financial doldrums. Ozil was a purchase that showed Arsenal was ready to start a new chapter.

Ozil had a very difficult time in his first couple seasons. Despite performing well in patches, the German ace found consistency rather difficult to come by. The Premier League is an infamously difficult league to acclimate too. Mesut’s lightweight frame and subtle playing style, made him an easy target for pundits. From Neil Ashton to Arsenal’s own legend Thierry Henry, analysts were lining up to take a shot at him. The German World Cup winner was labelled as “lazy” and a “passenger”, although there was irrefutable evidence to the contrary.

If that wasn’t enough even some of Arsenal’s own supporters voiced frustration with Ozil at the beginning of his career in England. The former Real Madrid man looked lost at times and had trouble making an impact on big games.

Ozil put all of these worries to rest.

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When it comes to consistency, last season’s campaign should put that speculation to bed. Registering a mind-blowing 19 assists, Ozil was Arsenal’s player of the year. His production tailed off towards the end of the season, but to be fair that had to do with his teammates’ lack of finishing.

If doubters thought he wouldn’t be able to come up big in the clutch that has also gone out the window. Ozil has scored or assisted against, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham.

When it comes to his ability to be a leader, Ozil has his own style. He is not an imposing figure like Patrick Vieira or as demonstrative as Henry. However he is undoubtedly a leader of this football club. Ozil’s teammates always comment on the German’s class on the pitch and how they seek to emulate it. When many commentators criticized Ozil for his languid appearance, he made a clear and distinct shift in his body language. However he didn’t do this for those pundits, he did it for the fans.

When he spoke to BT Sport Ozil had this to say (as quoted by the Standard):

"“My goal is to make sure my body language is right. When I make a mistake, I get annoyed and you can tell from my body language. But these days I try to make sure that I don’t do that anymore because in football you can make mistakes and play a bad pass. It is more for the fans, the people who watch the game, [rather than team-mates], because they might think that I’m not fighting anymore.”"

This past season Ozil showed further evidence of his leadership role at Arsenal. When Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista both went down with injuries during the summer it was Ozil who stepped up when needed. The German superstar reached out to his compatriot Shkodran Mustafi to convince the former Valencia man to join the North London contingent.

Ozil showed that he is more than willing to play the ambassador role for the club. With the impressive way that Mustafi has started the season, it is safe to say that the Gunners have acquired a fantastic gem for the present and future.

What more can you ask of a player? Ozil shows up in the big games and has also shown long-term consistency. He leads by example on the pitch, rather than in the press. Mesut is more than willing to act as spokesperson for the club we love.

Ozil has also been transformed by Arsenal as well. When he arrived from Spain, he was a slight and crafty play-maker. Now Ozil has beefed up quite a bit. He is tougher both physically and mentally.

Look at the way he turned N’Golo Kante inside out and then powered up the pitch for his goal against Chelsea. Could a first year Ozil do that against arguably the best defensive midfielder in England? We now see an Ozil who has become a more dynamic goal scorer alongside Alexis Sanchez.

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When he arrived, Arsenal needed Ozil more than he needed us, but that is no longer the case. Ozil’s legacy is conjoined with Arsenal’s. In modern football loyalty is not displayed nearly as much as it once was.

However, for a player like Ozil it is still crucial. Arsene Wenger has built the squad around Mesut. Rather than losing patience with Ozil, Wenger invested even more into him.

We can take a look at a player like Angel Di Maria and see what Ozil could have become. After just one season the Argentine was ran out of Manchester United. The fans and the club basically lost faith in him and he never settled. Ozil was nurtured at Arsenal to a degree and now we are reaping the fruits of that patience.

Mesut Ozil is still the symbol that Arsenal need. We can not lose him. We must show that we can not only attract big players but keep them as well. Arsene Wenger has spoken about Ozil’s desire to stay at the club. What the German wants more than anything is what the fans want also. He wants to hold the board and the manager accountable. He wants to have assurances about Arsenal’s ambition and future. Money is secondary when it comes to getting trophies. Wenger spoke about Ozil’s ambition to see Arsenal go for the major honors:

"“It’s not just money, Arsenal can win titles of course. But that’s what we have to show. We are in a league where Man City, Man United, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea everybody fights and you cannot guarantee that to anybody.”"

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Arsenal need to extend Mesut Ozil’s contract at almost any cost. He is a leader, a winner and a symbol of what Arsenal has become. Ozil has become synonymous with Arsenal and visa versa. If we are serious about winning titles then we need our true number 10 to sign on the dotted line.

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