Troy Deeney and Jermain Defoe have discussed the quality of former Arsenal star Mesut Ozil.
In terms of raw talent, Mesut Ozil is one of the standout Arsenal players of the modern era.
The German playmaker, whilst he could frustrate at times, was a true creative genius at this best. Ozil was capable of spotting and executing the kind of defence-splitting passes that few players are able to pull off.
The moment Arsenal signed Ozil from Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 was seismic. He arrived from the Bernabeu with a superstar reputation, and quickly impressed his quality on the Premier League. Whilst the latter part of his career in north London was gloomy, and he was unceremoniously dropped from the first team picture by Mikel Arteta, it is worth remembering how good Ozil was for Arsenal at his best.
By the time he left the club in the January of 2021, the 35-year-old had made 254 appearances for Arsenal across all competitions, scoring 44 goals and racking up 79 assists. He also won four FA Cups in his time with the Gunners.
Ozil hung up his boots in 2023. The 2014 World Cup winner will be remembered as one of the best playmakers of his generation. Since his retirement, Ozil has undergone a physical transformation that may shock many Arsenal fans.
Troy Deeney and Jermain Defoe reminisce about Mesut Ozil’s quality
Former Premier League strikers Troy Deeney and Jermain Defoe have now reflected upon one moment of Ozil’s Arsenal career that showed him at his best. Speaking on the Football Firsts podcast, Deeney recalled, “we played Arsenal, away at the Emirates. I think we won the game actually, in the FA Cup, but Ozil played, and we had Nathan Ake, and he did like a flip-flap and nutmegged him. Ozil nutmegged Ake…He did the flip-flap so well, that Nathan kind of went the other way, and he had like four yards, and it was like ‘oh!’…Everyone was like ‘oh my god!’”
Defoe then chipped in, stating, “he was a joke.”
The ups-and-downs of Ozil’s Arsenal career do not detract from how talented he was. He certainly lit up the Premier League at times, and produced a number of magic moments in an Arsenal shirt. He also played a key role in ending the trophy drought which dominated a long period of Arsene Wenger’s reign, after the move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium.
Clearly, Ozil also earned the respect of his fellow professionals, and he received plenty of ovations when he decided to bring the curtain down on his playing career.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
