14 goals, 10 assists: The Arsenal man who could bring out the best in Ozil

Mesut Ozil began his Arsenal career like the proverbial house on fire. His first two Premier League appearances yielded three assists, and it seemed that English defences would be powerless to resist his unparalleled eye for a pass.

However, in recent fixtures Ozil has faded somewhat. His last three Premier League games have seen him notch just one assist, but it’s the drop in his overall levels of performance that has been most startling.

While there have still been occasional touches of class, but he has been a significantly less prominent figure in Arsenal’s play, often drifting out wide to try and exert his influence on the game. In the recent match against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Ozil was all but anonymous.

Mesut Ozil’s Key Stats From Man United

There are several possible explanations for Ozil’s drop in form. The first is fatigue. The former Madrid man is acclimatising to a new, more physical league. He’s also playing more minutes than he ever did in Spain. In Madrid, Jose Mourinho would frequently withdraw him around the 70-minute mark, whereas Arsene Wenger tends to leave Ozil on for the full 90.

Equally, he could be suffering from becoming a marked man. At Madrid, opposition defenders had to worry about the threat of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. At Arsenal, Ozil is the undoubted star, and defenders can afford to double up to negate his undoubted threat.

However, there is an alternative theory: Ozil is missing the explosive pace of Theo Walcott.

Walcott is the perfect player to profit from the ex-Madrid man’s invention. His movement off-the-ball is excellent, and he has the sheer speed to race unchallenged on to the German’s slide-rule passes. Furthermore, last term, Arsenal’s number fourteen got 14 goals and 10 assists, highlighting the clinical nature of his game.

On the German’s debut, his understanding with Walcott was immediate and devastating. Twice in the first half Ozil’s through-balls found Walcott one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

The following Squawka chart demonstrates how frequently Ozil played successful forward passes down the right-wing for Walcott to chase on to.

Mesut Ozil’s Completed Passes vs Sunderland

The following week, Walcott exacerbated an abdominal injury in the warm-up with Stoke. He has been absent since.

With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski on the sidelines, Arsenal have no senior forwards who offer Walcott’s blistering pace and intelligent movement.

Ozil has suffered as a consequence. He has few mobile targets ahead of him: Olivier Giroud is an astute hold-up player but is not inclined to run in behind the defence.

The chart below shows the playmaker’s completed passes against Manchester United.

Ozil is still plundering the right wing for opportunities, but many of his passes are sideways or indeed backwards. Both the German and Arsenal are lacking penetration.

Fortunately, Walcott’s return is imminent. When the international break ends, the fleet-footed winger could be in line for a return to the Arsenal first-team.

Ozil will be as pleased as anyone.