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Arsenal overpowered Manchester City 2-1, in what was possibly one of the biggest matches of the season yet with the help of goals from Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud. Notably, both the goals for the Gunners were assisted by Mesut Ozil.
The German playmaker has dazzled the English Premier League with his trademark defence-splitting passes and impeccable game reading abilities which have terrorised oppositions and helped the North-London club stay in the hunt for the Premier League title which has eluded them for 11 years now.
The 27-year old has now mustered a total of 15 assists this season, which is just five less than the Premier League record of 20 assists held by Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry. Given the fact that more than half of the season is yet to be played, few would hesitate in putting their money on Ozil breaking the assists record.
The midfielder has now scored or assisted a goal in 11 consecutive Premier League matches, starting from September 26 when Arsenal defeated current league leaders Leicester City 2-5. Notably, Ozil has made an assist against all the teams currently in the top-6 of the PL.
The German became the club’s most expensive signing in 2013 when he was bought from Real Madrid for £42.5m. Ozil has proved he’s worth every penny paid for him by Arsene Wenger as he has managed a total of 29 assists thus far since 2013-14, which puts him on top of the list of assists made since he came to the Premier League.
Amazingly, during the same timeline, Manchester City’s David Silva is behind him with 22 assists. The maximum number of assists Silva has managed in a single season is 15, the number which Ozil has already achieved with 21 matches still to go.
Also, Ozil now overtakes Lionel Messi as the footballer with the highest number of assists since in Europe since August 2008.
- 101 - Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
- 100 - Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
- 84 - Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona/Chelsea)
- 75 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
- 68 - Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid/Paris Saint-Germain)
Chelsea winger Eden Hazard also has 29 assists to his name in the league, but the Belgian has played 59 PL games more than Ozil.
The Gunners playmaker has also made the maximum number of goals in Europe’s top 5 leagues with 15, with Paris Saint-Germain winger Di Maria behind him in second place with nine assists. Ozil has made more assists than the entire Manchester United squad or the Chelsea squad has managed thus far this season. The Red Devils have managed a total of 12 assists, whereas Chelsea has a total of 11 assists.
