Who is Mesut Özil…this object of Arsenal’s affections?

At 21 years of age, Mesut Özil is the rising star of German football. He has been linked with a move to the Premier League in recent months with Arsenal in particular being credited with an interest. Arsenal are already blessed with an abundance of young, talented, attacking players but Özil has also been linked with both teams from Manchester, so it is definitely worth finding out little more about him.

Born in Gelsenkirchen, Özil first appeared on the footballing radar when he joined German side Schalke 04 in 2005. Aged just 17, his appearances were limited but as his talent became obvious, he was promoted to the first-team squad at the beginning of the 2006-2007 season. Schalke finished as runners-up in the league that season with Özil racking up 19 Bundesliga appearances in a fairly successful season. The following year Özil played in 11 league games for Schalke and contributed 4 assists. A dispute over his contract led to a €4.3million deadline day switch to Werder Bremen in January 2008, making Özil the most expensive German teenager in history.

Özil helped Bremen finish in second place in the Bundesliga and his midfield partnership with Diego (now at Juventus) was one of the most creative in the league. In his first full season at Bremen, they finished tenth as the team paid the price for having a leaky defence, but their strong attack helped them win the German Cup with Özil scoring the winning goal in the final. Bremen also reached the final of the UEFA Cup last season, but lost out to Shakhtar Donetsk in extra time.

Capable of playing in central midfield or on the wing, Özil is a dynamic playmaker who can dribble past opponents, shoot from range and slip difficult through balls in for his front men. He has good stamina so is able to support the strikers from deep and is always willing to get into the box. His goalscoring record is not great with only 8 in 79 league appearances, but he is definitely more of a creator than a finisher and it should be remembered that he is only 21 so has plenty of time to improve on his goals to games ratio. A quick player with good technique and an intelligent way of playing, he is exactly the type of player Arsene Wenger likes to recruit.

Özil was one of the stars of the under-21 European Championships that took place in Sweden over the summer, and ever since Germany’s victory in that competition rumours of a big-money move have been circulating around Europe. The player himself has indicated that his preference is a move to Barcelona but interest from the Premiership is still strong. Arsenal may view Özil as a long-term replacement for Cesc Fabregas who himself is continuously linked with a move to the Camp Nou. However, the young Welshman Ramsey is also seen as the successor to Fabregas, so Özil’s future may lie elsewhere. After making his full international debut in February 2009, Özil has gone to accumulate four more caps; he is likely to go to the World Cup and scouts from across Europe will watching his performances on the biggest stage of all.