The rise and fall of Mesut Ozil at Arsenal

Mesut Ozil is set to complete his move to Turkish side Fenerbahce this week, ending his nine-year spell at Arsenal after the German was locked out of the North London side.

Ozil has had an illustrious career at Arsenal, winning four FA Cups as well as lifting the Community Shield twice. The midfielder also broke records with Arsenal when he became the first player to be the top assist provider in one season of the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, the European Championships and the World Cup!

The 32-year-old’s best season in an Arsenal shirt came in the 2015/16 season as he produced 19 assists, the second-highest amount in one Premier League season at the time after former Gunner Thierry Henry (with 20 assists).

That season, Ozil played behind Alexis Sanchez and the pair formed a deadly duo which guided Arsenal to second in the Premier League.

Much to Arsenal fans dismay, the forwards were separated in 2018 as the Gunners’ poor form prompted Sanchez to move to Manchester United.

The German signed a new deal with Arsenal in 2018 and it was made very publicly aware that the playmaker was now the highest-paid player at Arsenal by some way.

In the 2018/19 season, however, Ozil only managed to record two league assists; the lowest he had ever recorded in a league season.

In the 2019/20 season, Ozil dyed his hair blonde, taking the ‘New season new me’ approach after his dip in form. Sadly for Ozil, the hair was not enough to restore himself to his former glory with the German’s struggle for form continuing as he registered only three-goal contributions in the league all season.

His career went from bad to worse this season when boss Mikel Arteta dropped the number ten from the Premier League and Europa League squad, shutting Ozil out of the team and leaving Arsenal devoid of a playmaker.

Ozil has always been a fantastic servant to Arsenal and will be thoroughly missed by both the fans and the team. The German is expected to sign for Fenerbahce in the coming days after his contract with Arsenal was terminated six months prematurely.

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