Mesut Ozil: Five performances which made Madridistas swoon

Mesut Ozil dexterously pulled strings for Real Madrid, and was heavily influential in his former club’s title-winning run in 2011-12.

One of the biggest signings of deadline day of the transfer window turned out to be Arsenal‘s capture of Germany international Mesut Ozil for a whopping £42.5M.

While that seems like a lot of money, the young playmaker (he’s still only 24) is worth every penny. He was exceptional at Real Madrid and will no doubt add a lot of quality to Arsenal. Let’s go over some of his best performances for the Spanish giants.

1) Sevilla vs Real Madrid, May 7th 2011: Ozil had established himself as a regular during his first season at the club itself, thanks mostly to his consistent performances in the absence of Kaka, who struggled with injuries.

This was one game when he was particularly unplayable, providing three assists as Real Madrid beat Sevilla 6-2 away. Ozil had already earned himself a reputation as an assist maker but that match gave the world further proof that the young German international was something special.

Of all his excellent performances during his debut season at the club, this one most definitely stood out.

2) Real Madrid vs Granada, January 7th 2012: Another match which saw Ozil pull all the strings from his preferred #10 position, a position he made his own during the season.

Mourinho had experimented with using him as an inverted winger on occasion but during this match he was deployed in the hole behind the striker. He didn’t get on the score-sheet but he did manage to provide three assists as Real Madrid romped home to a 5-1 victory against Granada. He was withdrawn after 66 minutes but he had already done all the damage by then.

3) Athletic Club vs Real Madrid, 2nd May 2012: The match that won Real Madrid the league title saw Ozil have one of his best matches at the club. He scored one goal and assisted another as Real went on to win the match 3-0 and seal their 32nd league title. Given how important he was to the club that season, it seemed only fitting that he would be one of their best performers in the match that saw them clinch the La Liga title.

4) Real Madrid vs Mallorca, 13th May 2012: Mesut Ozil isn’t the most prolific goal-scorer. Indeed, he only netted a total of 27 goals in 159 appearances for Real Madrid.

However, against Mallorca he found the back of the net twice as Real beat them 4-1 in the final league game of the season. Real Madrid had already won La Liga by then but managed to end the season on a high.

Ozil, a key player during their title-winning campaign, capped a successful season with two goals.

5) Real Valladolid vs Real Madrid, 8th December 2012: Real Madrid weren’t in the best of form during the game as they somehow managed to fall behind twice. Benzema drew the visitors level the first time around before a superb brace from Ozil saw Real Madrid win the game. His first goal levelled the scores at 2-2 before an exquisite long-range free-kick in the 73nd minute of the game saw Real clinch all three points.