Is Mesut Ozil the answer to Arsenal’s troubles?

By Robert Osoro

The league is won by points and not pounds.’ These were the words of sports commentator Graig Burley during Arsenal’s 1-0 win over their bitter rivals, Tottenham Hotspurs. Being played during a time when the summer transfer window would close in 24 hours, Burley’s words aptly captured the situation for both clubs.

Spurs manager Andre Villas Boas had spent £106 million on player transfers while Wenger had spent nothing. Mathieu Flamini and Yaya Sanogo were the only new faces Le Prof had brought to the Emirates—at no cost (the economist indeed!). Understandably, this had Gooners worried as their North London rivals had bolstered their playing units with the likes of Paulinho, Capoue, Erick Lamela and Soldado among others. Finishing in the Top 4 seemed an arduous task for the red half of London unless valuable additions were made.

However, Wenger seemed to harbor certain secrets that the football world would soon come to find out. Lovers and haters of Arsenal woke up on Monday morning to the astounding news that Mesut Ozil had signed for the Gunners from European giants Real Madrid.

For eightconsecutive seasons, Arsenal has endured a frustrating spell without a trophy—contrary to its fans expectations. This has seen players ditch the club in search of honours in other places—Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie are part of the exodus of players who have gone on to win trophies at other clubs.

After Robin Van Persie left for the Red Devils last season, Wenger brought in Frenchman Olivier Giroud.His first season yielded double-digit goals but could not lead the Gunners to the trophy. Instead, Arsenal made it to the Top 4 on the last day of the season with Spurs quite unlucky to miss out.

Besides proving to Arsenal fans that it is serious about sustaining a trophy hunt this season, the signing of Ozil is expected to ensure a steady avalanche of goals. Fans have sung and practically bragged about finally having acquired an everlasting solution to the club’s perpetual trophy drought.

In perhaps one of the biggest football hyperboles ever, one fan claimed that, “Mesut reminds me of Robert Pires.” While the ex-Madrid midfielder is no slouch, he is not as fast as Pires and does not chalk up goals with the same frequency as the Frenchman.

The 24-year old midfielder may be renowned for various attributes but scoring goals is certainly not one of them. His statics speak of an average goal getter not a double digit midfielder like Frank Lampard but— mark my word—his assists are the best any team in Europe would love to have and Arsenal are lucky to have him.

Last season, Ozil topped the assist charts in Europe with 25 where 17 of those were in La Liga. In his second season with Werder Bremen—where his professional career took off and Bremen finished 3rdin the Bundesliga—Ozil managed 9 goals and 17 assists in 31 league appearances. Also in his second season with Madrid, his 17 assists were the highest among Real Madrid players helping the Galaticos clinch their 32nd title in La Liga.

It is a surprise—a pleasant one at that—to see Wenger break out of his financial straitjacket and produce a club record £42.5million for his dream signing. The Frenchman did not mince his words: “He is a great player, with proven quality at both club and international level. We have watched and admired him for sometime as he has all the attributes I look for in an Arsenal player.”

Is he the missing link Arsenal badly needed to mount a challenge for the title? That I leave it to the fans to decide as the league gains momentum.

Do you think Ozil will help Arsenal finally break their trophy drought this season?

First published in September 2012.