Thought he was going to end up being one of the greats during those early days
Thought he retired like 3 or 4 years ago
Thought he retired like 3 or 4 years ago
Ozil
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What you think of what you think of a quintessential no.10, really. Little bit lazy, a bit lax, but insane technical ability and phenomenal passer. Type of guy who'd probably prefer to pass in front of an open goal than shoot himself
I'll happily oblige!
An absolute joy to watch on his day, especially at Madrid. Don't think Arsenal ever really set up to get the best out him. We never got that top class striker with pace for him to feed balls to, (Giroud being a different type of player), or a top class holding midfielder/double pivot to balance him out.
Think he was unlucky in the mid to latter part of his career and suffered from the shift in football away from using number 10's, to 433 formation and high intensity pressing.
Stop thinking then
Was never lazy for me, always top of distance covered, sprints, pressures etc when at Arsenal, maybe looked lazy as he always seemed to have time on the ball and seemed to glide around.
Absolute killer with his passing and ability on the ball, was world class on his day.
Absolute killer with his passing and ability on the ball, was world class on his day.
that time he skinned Gareth Barry
Honestly didn't know he hadn't retired already 
I thought during that World Cup he would go on to be consistently elite for the next decade. He had a decent range of passing, a good shot from outside the box and good pace over short distances.
I felt Germany would win the next World Cup in 2014 after reaching the 2 tournament semi finals in a row.
But like the German side itself, post 2014, his career only produced moments.
He was clearly worldclass at Real and was outstanding during his early Arsenal years, but just somehow suddenly faded badly.
Really amazing player, one of my favourites ever to watch. I really thought he was going to dominate though for years when I saw him from 2009 to 2011, just pure talent. Could have been better, despite a great career all the same.
These days football requires completely different kind of midfielders than the 2000-2015 era. No many teams are still using 4231 with a dedicated #10.I'll happily oblige!
An absolute joy to watch on his day, especially at Madrid. Don't think Arsenal ever really set up to get the best out him. We never got that top class striker with pace for him to feed balls to, (Giroud being a different type of player), or a top class holding midfielder/double pivot to balance him out.
Think he was unlucky in the mid to latter part of his career and suffered from the shift in football away from using number 10's, to 433 formation and high intensity pressing.
I think he was one of the few players who actually needed someone with a Mourinho like profile to keep him disciplined while training and playing. His numbers at Madrid were terrific.
Carzola's injury mid way in the 2015-16 season really changed things I think. It made Ozil's ability to play in the final third now difficult because Arsenal lacked a player to be able to link the defense and attack like Carzola could. I thought it became quite noticable that Ozil started playing deeper in order to get the ball following Carzola because no other Arsenal player at the time could link up well. That greatly reduced his effectiveness and lead to the downfall of him and that Arsenal side.I'll happily oblige!
An absolute joy to watch on his day, especially at Madrid. Don't think Arsenal ever really set up to get the best out him. We never got that top class striker with pace for him to feed balls to, (Giroud being a different type of player), or a top class holding midfielder/double pivot to balance him out.
Think he was unlucky in the mid to latter part of his career and suffered from the shift in football away from using number 10's, to 433 formation and high intensity pressing.
Overall, I think the 2018 WC completely broke him and his love for football. First being harshly criticized before for the picture with Erdogan and the being made the scapegoat for the tournament, when he was by far our best player in the last match, creating countless chances that no one finished. After that, it seemed he stopped caring and went into a hole.
At his peak (in Madrid), second to Iniesta as a CAM. When he moved from there I hoped he'd join a better (in terms of personnel at the time) club than Arsenal, though Wenger was a good manager for him. Still think he was a world class player up until the 2017-18 season.
Quality player who needed to be at one of the very top clubs and constantly challenged. He coasted at Arsenal, and I think he was pampered to a degree by Wenger (given days off etc..) and it made him softer and he lost that drive.
Supremely gifted and an absolutely fantastic player though. Arsenal was the wrong move.
Supremely gifted and an absolutely fantastic player though. Arsenal was the wrong move.
Agree with the poster that brought up Cazorla. Santi was such a key player for us, imo the best player we had of the previous decade. He could feed Ozil in strides and make things so much easier for him.
We also had a very lazy team later on...no press, no runs being made. Everything was so static, it was not only Ozil that was part of the problem. Our fitness levels were poor, players getting injured all the time, laziness allover the pitch. I feel this is one of the first things Arteta fixed.
We also had a very lazy team later on...no press, no runs being made. Everything was so static, it was not only Ozil that was part of the problem. Our fitness levels were poor, players getting injured all the time, laziness allover the pitch. I feel this is one of the first things Arteta fixed.
You know how good he was when you see his statistics and the amount of trophies he won yet there's still that feeling he could've done more.
For me he lost focus somewhen in the last year with Real Madrid. He was still good afterwards - but it was not anymore that "easy" looking like it was before.
In Germany that combo of the 2010 World Cup and about 2 or 3 years afterwards with Klose, Özil, Müller and Podolski - even if the later one was not this "artsy" as the others but was there often too execute and keep the width was extraordinary.
That is a video from 2012/13
In my eyes the EPL has not even seen much of the "real" Özil of the years before. I do not know if this was because of his own strugglings or if it was a problem or because all wanted more on that position and not just a creative no. 10.
In Germany that combo of the 2010 World Cup and about 2 or 3 years afterwards with Klose, Özil, Müller and Podolski - even if the later one was not this "artsy" as the others but was there often too execute and keep the width was extraordinary.
That is a video from 2012/13
In my eyes the EPL has not even seen much of the "real" Özil of the years before. I do not know if this was because of his own strugglings or if it was a problem or because all wanted more on that position and not just a creative no. 10.
He's always been one of my favourite players for this reason. For a team sport it's comprised almost entirely of greedy bastards as far as goals are concerned. Plus at his best he was an absolute genius.
He was frustrating at times but there's no doubt he was one of the most entertaining playmakers I have seen in this modern generation of football. A real joy on his day.
Declined when he joined Arsenal.
Arsenal treated him like shit and didn’t get the best out of him. They could have challenged for a bit more than just FA Cups if they utilised him better.
The guy was overly pampered under Wenger, and then paid very very handsomely for that privelage.
Nonchalant.
Great to watch on his day. Maybe the last of the classic 10's from the previous generation.