Arsenal: There’s only one “new Mesut Ozil” and it isn’t Orkun Kokcu

Arsenal has supposedly pegged Orkun Kokcu as the “new Mesut Ozil” but that’s a misnomer. There’s only one new Ozil, and don’t hide from it.

Getting rid of and replacing Mesut Ozil has to be seen as the top priority this coming transfer window for Arsenal. The German playmaker has not been making many plays since Mikel Arteta reinstated him to the regular starting XI and his complete lack of goal contributions make that massive paycheck harder to stomach.

Which is why it’s no surprise that the Gunners are looking for new, young ways to move forward from Ozil and their target, reportedly, is Orkun Kokcu, the young Turkish midfielder currently suiting up at Feyenoord.

Kokcu boasts quite the impressive array of talents, particularly in the goal creation field, and at this point, it’s hard not to improve on Ozil. But calling him the next Ozil is a gross over-exaggeration that only the media could accomplish.

Arsenal’s next Mesut Ozil isn’t Orkun Kokcu

When Ozil came to the Emirates, it was a massive, era-defining move. Here the Gunners had attracted a world-class creator from Real Madrid, thus announcing that they had passed through the dark ages of having no money and arriving on the modern stage.

Ozil was leaving Real Madrid, where he was truly one for the ages, and joining up with Arsene Wenger right as Ozil was entering his prime years. This was massive.

Kokcu will not come to such acclaim. That’s not a slight on him, it’s just a completely different circumstance and thus it’s unfair to dub him the next Ozil. He’s an under-the-radar play. He’s not an Ozil-caliber player.

As it stands, there is only one person who could be heralded as “the next Ozil,” and that man is Kai Havertz. While he wouldn’t be coming from the same tier as Real Madrid, the Bayer Leverkusen youngster is widely regarded as one of the best in the world, his arrival would be heralded along the same lines as Ozil’s arrival and it would be another era-defining move.

Havertz has proven to be a pure goal threat who, as you may have noticed recently, can even play striker effectively. His German connection and reverence for Ozil is just an added bonus.

Not that we need the comparison, but the sensationalist media has got it wrong again. Kokcu is more of a Guendouzi play. If you want to talk about the next Ozil, it has to be Havertz.