Arsenal: Dani Ceballos is already better than Mesut Ozil

Arsenal got the job done against Burnley, and in the process, Dani Ceballos has already surpassed Mesut Ozil in just over an hour.

Arsenal were able to continue their perfect start to the season, giving up just the one goal while scoring two beauties for themselves. And the man who was the architect behind both goals, and behind the game itself, was Dani Ceballos, the man who a lot see as the replacement of Mesut Ozil.

And after his first start, I can’t help but agree. In just 63 minutes (he played 82, but didn’t need those extra twenty minutes), Ceballos accomplished what it took Ozil all of last season to do—he notched two assists.

It’s not like these were soft assists either, though the first one was mostly Alexandre Lacazette, but someone had to get him the ball. The second one was more like what we’ve come to love about Ceballos. Pure effort and precision.

After the Gunners lost possession, Ceballos didn’t give up (*cough* like Ozil would have *cough). Instead, he stuck with it and poked the ball away, perfectly into the path of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who slotted home magnificently.

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Ceballos led the team in created chances (4), he tied for the team lead in dribbles completed (4). Those are two numbers in two categories that we literally never saw last year, especially out of Mesut Ozil who, for the gross majority of the season, was averaging less than two chances created per appearance. And his dribbling has become a non-factor.

Ceballos also tied for the team lead in tackles won and… well… the comparison to Ozil doesn’t need to be made there.

What you also won’t see on the stats is the direct threat he was to goal, taking three shots, one of which required a brilliant save from Pope. He is going to get his goals too, it’s just a matter of time. And that’s yet another leg up we’re going to see he has on Ozil.

I’m not here to disparage Ozil so much as I’m here to say that Ceballos is working. And it’s only two matches into the season. It’s no secret that Ozil has not been effective, so seeing Ceballos come in here and latch immediately is the most promising thing I’ve seen in years.

Last time I wrote a negatively slanted article about Mesut Ozil, I received some tasteful hate mail, so let’s see what happens here.