After being heavily criticised towards the end of last season, it was feared that Mesut Ozil may look to demand a transfer away from Arsenal.
He did not appear well-suited to the rigours of English football where players now not even get to enjoy a winter break. In the last few months, though, there have been signs that Ozil may start to recapture his old form. This was finally evident in the 4-1 thrashing of Liverpool during the weekend when the German midfielder scored one of the goals from a freekick. After the match, he stated that he is starting to enjoy English football where games come thick and fast.
Last season, Ozil was visibly tired in the second half and this forced manager Arsene Wenger to rest him even from high-profile matches in the Champions League. After almost 2 years in the Premier League, it appears that the 27-year-old is starting to get used to a regular run of matches without rest. Signed from Real Madrid for £42.5 million, Ozil is the club’s record signing and it was expected that the team would be built around him. The German is showing finally that he is capable of being the main man in a team unlike at Real Madrid.
“I needed to familiarise myself with the Premier League, because it’s very intensive here. There are a lot of what we call ‘English weeks’ in Germany – where you play twice, and there’s no winter break either.It’s demanding because you don’t have many breaks to recover, but as a footballer it’s great to have so many games and I’m the sort of player who prefers playing in many matches – that’s why I fit perfectly here,” said Ozil. He has contributed five goals and six assists in 19 appearances this season.