The injuries might have taken a heavy toll on Arsenal but they have not stopped Mesut Ozil’s fine form, as the German notched up yet another assist during Arsenal’s victory over Sunderland on Saturday. The World Cup winner was in great form as he orchestrated most of Arsenal’s forward momentum, and even without threats like Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla backing him up, Ozil never looked short of ideas. His contributions throughout the season have kept Arsenal competitive at the top of the league and he ensured that he was once again on hand to deliver when we needed him the most.
In fact, Ozil believes that the injuries to Sanchez and Cazorla are something that Arsenal can shake off, thanks to our ‘big squad’ (via Arsenal.com). Speaking to Arsenal Player, the German playmaker went on to elaborate how he was confident of the quality present within the side.
“It’s very bitter for us to lose such important players like Alexis and Santi, but now we’ve got other players who can come in as we have a big squad,” he said.
“They have the opportunity to play a role in the team, they have to give everything. We know what the situation is so we’ve got to go out and show our qualities so that we can win this game.
“The situation at the top of the table means there’s only two points between us and the top. I’m satisfied with that as a situation but we’ve really got to play with the quality that we’ve got in the team and do everything we can to get the points.
Ozil went on to talk about his personal milestones this season, revealing that he was keen on winning the PFA Player of the Year award. The 27-year old currently leads the assists table in the Premier League with 12 to his name already, and has also notched up a couple of goals in recent weeks. If he continues in this vein of form, league records could easily be broken. However, the player admitted that team success was ultimately more important that personal glory.
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“It’s really good that it’s working well for me with the assists and goals, but I want to improve and become a better player all the time,” he continued.
“What is the most important thing, though, is actually the way the team performs as a whole and that we win games which can help us win the Premier League.
“Tha’s the most important factor for us now. It would be lovely to win PFA Player of the Year but in the foreseeable future we have the Premier League title and we have to win games so that we can go for it.”
Mesut Ozil has already been voted Arsenal’s Vitality Player of the Month twice this season, and is a clear frontrunner to take the Player of the Season award as well. If he continues his form into the second half of the season, the PFA too will undoubtedly take notice, not to mention that his assists could pave the way for Arsenal to secure their position near the top of the league table. If we manage to navigate through this period of injuries without giving up momentum in the title chase, it will be absolutely massive for the club, and players like Ozil and Petr Cech will be critical to that effort.
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