Everyone needs Özil

Do Arsenal really need Mesut Özil? Adam Bate reckons questions don't come any sillier.

Do Arsenal really need Mesut Özil? He's no striker but the point really ought to be moot. This is the most stunning Gunners signing since Dennis Bergkamp. If there's a difference it's that the Dutch master came with question marks over his ability to translate his form abroad after a difficult spell in Italy. With Özil, there should be no such doubts. "Özil is unique," said his former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho. "There is no copy of him. Not even a bad copy. He is the best No.10 in the world." In the 24-year-old German, Arsenal have signed a world-class player at the peak of his powers. Just as Mourinho asserts, with more assists than any other footballer in Europe's top five leagues over the past five seasons, Özil has a justifiable claim to be regarded as the game's foremost creator - the pre-eminent playmaker around today.

Real Madrid - La Liga 2012/13
Player	Key Passes	Key Passes per 90 mins
Mesut Özil	92	4.07
Kaka	25	2.33
Luka Modric	56	2.31
Xabi Alonso	49	2.06
Cristiano Ronaldo	62	2.05
Angel Di Maria	44	2.00

If you're a cynical soul of the view that those assist records are bolstered only by the genius of Cristiano Ronaldo - passes that preceded goals, rather than goals resulting from passes, if you like - consider the differential between Özil and his Real Madrid team-mates. While the rest of the creators in Real's midfield - Ronaldo, Kaka, Angel Di Maria, Luka Modric and Xabi Alonso - produced no more than 2.33 key passes per 90 minutes, Özil delivered 4.07 key passes per full game last season. To achieve these feats that require ambitious forward passes and still retain a pass completion rate of more than 84 per cent is indicative of the fact that Özil is an intelligent user of the ball as well as a creative force. Put simply, he will keep the ball when it needs to be kept and play the killer pass when it needs to be played. But Özil is more than just stats. In fact, he is as hard to define as he is elusive to pick up in those attacking midfield zones, with his instinctive ability to drift to the flanks in search of space. His game is about occupying those little pockets wherever he can find them. His touches of the ball against Galatasaray (below) show this lateral movement well. With this awareness not only to find