Arsenal coach Unai Emery has said he believes Mesut Ozil is one of several players who could captain his team next season.
Ozil was captain for the 5-1 International Champions Cup (ICC) win over Paris Saint-Germain in Singapore on Saturday, scoring along with Alexandre Lacazette (two), Rob Holding and Eddie Nketiah as a strong team coasted to victory.
“We are working together and giving the responsibility to the players,” Emery said after the match.
“I think he can take the responsibility, but let’s not forget [Laurent] Koscielny, who is recovering with us. Then we’ve got Petr Cech, who captained us in a friendly match. Aaron Ramsey also captained us in a friendly, and I am maybe thinking another one or two players can take responsibility for every player in the team.”
Ozil played in his favoured No. 10 role against PSG, with Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan on either side and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up front, but Emery said he could also be deployed on the right.
“We want to give him and our players the position they feel most comfortable in on the pitch. He started today at No. 10,” he said.
“It depends because Mesut can play on the right and go inside, driving in to open up space for the right back. We want to find a space for him and the other players where they can use their qualities through good positioning.”
Ozil opened the scoring, beating Gianluigi Buffon from a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang assist after 13 minutes, but Emery said he felt there was still room for improvement in his team ahead of the start of the Premier League season.
“I want to improve this pressing,” he added. “In the second half they were tired, but the young players gave us the pressing back and allowed us to change our positions and play with three in midfield.”
A quick, creative and technical player, Özil excels in an advanced playmaking role,as a winger on either flank, or as an attacking midfielder through the centre of the pitch.
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he was also deployed in a new role which was later described as a false-10 or central winger, due to his tendency to drift from the centre into a wide position when in possession of the ball; he has also been deployed in a more advanced role, where he usually functions as a second striker, as he often drops into deeper positions, from which he can link the midfield with the attack and initiate passing moves.
An elegant left-footed player, his main attributes are his vision, his control, movement, passing range, and accurate crossing ability, as well as his delivery from set-pieces,which allow him to get into good attacking positions, create chances, and provide many assists for his teammates.
Due to his creative ability and offensive prowess as a playmaker, Özil has been called “assist-king” in the media. As of January 2016, Özil has the best ratio of assists per game in the history of the Premier League.
Germany under-21 manager Horst Hrubesch once said, “We in Germany are prone to rave about foreign players. We praise Wayne Rooney to the heavens, likewise Ronaldo or Messi. But we have our own Messi. Our Messi is Özil.”
In the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Belgium, he scored a goal which has been described as a “work of art.” Germany coach Joachim Löw hails Özil for his “genius moments” and his performance without the ball Former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso described Özil as “the kind of player you don’t find these days,” adding, “He understands the game, sees things, combines and thrives between the lines, unlocking teams.” José Mourinho, who coached Özil for a time at Real Madrid said, “Özil is unique. There is no copy of him – not even a bad copy.”
Assistant coach of the Germany national football teamHans-Dieter Flick said, “We are proud to have him in our team. When he has the ball, you can feel the excitement and astonishment among the fans.” Former Netherlands and Milan forward Ruud Gullit described Özil as a “technically perfect” player who has “total control of the ball” and a “great imagination.”
Former Germany teammate Phillip Lahm said of Özil “His vision is probably the best I have ever seen… He is a dream for strikers.”, while Mario Gómez called Özil “probably the most brilliant footballer we have or ever had”.[182] Despite his reputation as an offensive playmaker, Özil has also drawn criticism at times for his lack of physicality and his low defensive work-rate off the ball.