Mesut Ozil: killer ball ability is just what Arsenal need

One image haunting Football Association officials in recent years was the memory of Mesut Ozil outpacing a labouring Gareth Barry at the 2010 World Cup, and the German then slowing the game down, waiting for Thomas Muller to arrive before rolling the ball between Ashley Cole’s legs for his teammate to score.

All the timing and pace of running, the intelligence and weight of delivery that defines Ozil was seen there. Arsenal’s desire to sign Ozil was totally understandable. For a footballer occasionally accused of not enjoying the physical side of the game, Ozil has traditionally done well against English sides, especially national ones.

Tactical errors from Stuart Pearce at the 2009 Uefa Under-21 Championship and then Fabio Capello with the seniors a year later gifted Ozil space and it is the oxygen on which he thrives. Even in tight corners, Ozil can pass or play his way out of trouble. Granted a yard of room, he can kill defences. Ozil kept drifting in from the left to destroy Pearce’s side in Malmo, creating Germany’s first with a clever run and a wonderful pass to Gonzalo Castro before then scoring a 35-yard free-kick that pretended to go one way, then the other before totally befuddling Scott Loach.

A year later, it was Ozil himself moving all over, to bewitch England, and his supposed marker Barry, in Bloemfontein.

He has inflicted punishment on superior sides to England, creating havoc in the Dutch ranks in Kharkiv at Euro 2012 as Germany won 2-1. Mark van Bommel, Nigel de Jong and the young defender Jetro Willems baulked him, pressed him, tried to marginalise him, but he continued. He looked almost annoyed to be replaced by Toni Kroos late on.

The sinewy Ozil’s tougher than he looks. Even before shredding the England Under-21s’ defence, Ozil had declared his talent during Werder Bremen’s run to the German Cup final of 2009. England knew they would have their hands full in Sweden but Ozil was still too good. After Ozil’s masterclass of No 10 playmaking in the 4-0 victory, the

FA gathered to see what lessons could be learned. “We need to produce Mesut Ozil types,” announced Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA’s director of football development. Players with vision. Players prepared to take opponents on. Pearce’s No 10 in Malmo was Mark Noble, able enough but not blessed with Ozil’s imagination or ability to manipulate a ball to a teammate deep in enemy territory. Jack Wilshere of Arsenal and England can be a No 10 but he lacks Ozil’s speed over 20 yards, goal threat and healthier injury record.

Everton fans will point to Ross Barkley, Ravel Morrison may come good (although not a No 10), but the general absence of an English Ozil is why the Premier League has this season launched an initiative in its Academies to develop home-grown playmakers, to find more artists than athletes.

Ozil scores fairly regularly, often from range, and his left-footed strike against Ghana was one of the goals of the 2010 World Cup, but it is his ability as the assist-meister, creating chances for club and country that really stands out and why Arsene Wenger was so keen on him.

During that breakthrough season of 2008-09, Ozil supplied 18 assists for Werder Bremen and Germany’s juniors. His assist record since reads 20 (09-10), 31 (10-11), 26 (11-12) and 35 last season. One of the players to profit from Ozil’s final ball has been his Germany colleague, Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski, either through deliveries to run on to or via accurate crosses.

One can just imagine Wenger poring over footage of Ozil, as he did after South Africa, and noting how well Ozil worked with Podolski. “He’s an outstanding player who takes up intelligent positions,” Pearce said of Ozil. It is this intelligence of his movement that so enthuses coaches like Wenger, that utterly confused Capello’s players in South Africa. England were well aware of his threat on the eve of the meeting in Bloemfontein, and Barry knew he would have to track Ozil, to deny him room. The result? 4-1 defeat. Like many such players seeking to roam in the final third, Ozil needs his centre-forward to create space, dragging opponents out of position as Miroslav Klose did brilliantly in Bloemfontein. In the opening few minutes, John Terry and Matthew Upson were distracted by Klose dropping short, Barry dozed off,

Ozil timed his run on to Bastian Schweinsteiger’s pass perfectly, outran Cole but David James saved. The second half highlighted Ozil’s class, from the decoy run through the centre that totally flummoxed England and fashioned space for Muller for Germany’s third.

Then with that run down the left and ball for Muller. Ozil has that ability to play the game at his own pace, accelerating, biding his time, going forward suddenly with a dart or a pass, but also content to pass the ball back, to build again.

He’s the type of creative player Germany have been wanting since Mehmet Scholl’s international retirement in 2002, or further back to Thomas Hassler. He takes the ball on the half-turn, always playing with his head up, knowing where his teammates are.

That left foot is so good at delivering the ball behind the defence. He can shoot early or simply feint, looking for a better angle. He is far from the finished article, and can fade, but a video of Ozil in possession should be given to every aspiring attacking midfielder in every Premier League academy.