It would take a hard-hearted man not to have revelled in the excellence of Mesut Ozil on the night Arsenal finally took their chance to go top of the Premier League.
So it was Bournemouth, not Barcelona, but nonetheless, following the Southampton debacle and with Arsenal’s title credentials under scrutiny yet again, he gave his team renewed credibility.
There were periods in which he played at a level which not only baffled his opponents but appeared to dazzle his team-mates as well.
It has been 11-and-a-half years since Arsene Wenger won the Premier League title, yet there were at least two players on the pitch who bore comparison with some of his greats of old.
Ozil of course was one and Wenger bracketed him alongside Dennis Bergkamp. Petr Cech, breaking the Premier League record for clean sheets, was another and his manager ranked him with David Seaman.
Yet it was the little German who stole the show.
‘I was always defending him, even when you were sceptical,’ said Wenger. ‘Is he the best in the league? Look at the numbers on the assists: they speak for him. Bergkamp was more of a goal-scorer and Ozil is more of a man for assists. But now he is adding goal-scoring, so yes they are comparable.
‘If you think he should give the ball, the ball has gone. He always sings the song in the right tone and that is very difficult to achieve when the decisions you make have to be so quick.’
Indeed, after a short spell late in the first half, when he had created at least four chances in almost as many minutes, he jogged over to take a corner to be met by a standing ovation. Never mind breaking Thierry Henry’s record of 20 assists this season, he looked as if he might break it in this game.
Amid a surplus of sublime contributions, there was a pass for Theo Walcott on 39 minutes which appeared to defy logic, in that there seemed to be no gap through which to pass. Every corner he took utterly perplexed Bournemouth, such was his unerring accuracy.
Yet until his contribution after 27 minutes, when his corner picked out Gabriel, who glided past his marker Charlie Daniels and headed home decisively, Arsenal had in fact looked a little unsure of themselves.
Bournemouth were all energy and verve, Arsenal seemingly playing with the lingering memory of that Southampton horror show. Marc Pugh and Daniels down the left looked to have the run of Hector Bellerin early on and Arsenal were in the unaccustomed role of conceding possession to their opponents.
‘I’m really disappointed,’ said Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe. ‘We were very good in the early stages and then we conceded and lost our way totally until half-time. Set plays were a real problem.’
Yet when Ozil took control of proceedings, it was as though the game had moved into a different dimension, one to which only the German was truly attuned. He was almost unplayable.
There was the corner for the goal, the pass for Walcott, but there was also another corner, on 40 minutes, which Gabriel, excellent on his return, flicked on to the post. Amusingly, the ball rebounded into the face of Per Mertesacker, who was two yards out and apparently so alarmed to see the ball heading in his direction he managed to direct it past the post rather than inside it.
A minute later there was yet another threaded through-ball for Walcott, which Artur Boruc did well to smother.
Joshua King really should have equalised for Bournemouth after 49 minutes but dwelled on his chance and allowed Gabriel a last-ditch, saving tackle. Yet Ozil again proved the difference. He weighed up his options on 64 minutes, exchanged a lovely one-two with Olivier Giroud, before finishing through the legs of Boruc.
It was just his eighth goal of the season but given the assists he is accumulating, that may not matter for Arsenal come the end of the season, especially if Alexis Sanchez can get fit.
There should have been more. Walcott shot across the face of goal after 67 minutes and then missed from close range when Boruc parried Giroud’s shot. Giroud couldn’t quite get on Ozil’s wavelength after 78 minutes and Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain’s strike was deflected wide with minutes remaining.
But Arsenal looked comfortable enough and if Ozil can sustain his form and his team-mates can provide adequate supporting roles, then 2004 may not seem such a distant memory. – Daily Mail