Arsenal are set for their worst ever final standing under Arsene Wenger’s tutelage this season and as is often the case in the hyperbolic world of the Premier League, the Gunners’ biggest talents are bearing the brunt of the criticism.
Alexis Sanchez’s body language has been dissected by pundits and newspapers alike following virtually every appearance since the turn of 2017, whilst the debate over whether Mesut Ozil does enough for the team off the ball or produces enough on it continues to rumble on.
Overall, it’s not been a fantastic season for the German international despite starting the campaign in red-hot form, notching up a decent if somewhat unspectacular seven goals and six assists in 28 Premier League outings.
But scratch a little deeper, and the statistics suggest Ozil is largely holding up his end of the bargain. According to data courtesy of EA SPORTS, the 2014 World Cup winner has completed the most passes in the opposition half of any Premier League player this term – a whopping 1227. His pass success rate in the opposition half, meanwhile, is an equally impressive 85.62%.
Of course, statistics can be a little misleading at times – the attacking midfielder may have simply seen a lot more of the ball in such scenarios than his Premier League counterparts. After all, Arsenal rank fourth throughout the top flight for possession with an average of 56.7% this season.
But the above numerals are backed up by the fact 80.04% of all Ozil’s passes have come in the opposing half this term, the highest ratio out of the 15 players to have completed the most passes in the Premier League this year. It’s not simply a case of Ozil getting plenty of the ball; it’s a matter of him picking up the right positions and moving the ball on effectively in dangerous areas.
That paints a rather different picture of Ozil’s season – but let us know how you’d handle the 28-year-old’s reported demands for a £300k per-week contract by voting below…
Data Courtesy of EA SPORTS, the Lead Partner of the Premier League.
