Why Manchester United should have bought Ozil and not Fellaini

Mesut Ozil (R) and Marouane Fellaini (L) playing for their countries

English Premier League giants, Manchester United and Arsenal managed to secure two of the finest deals of the recent transfer window, when they signed Belgium’s Mourane Fellaini and Germany’s Mesut Ozil, respectively. But now the question arises whether it would have been better if the duo swapped clubs.

Mesut Ozil, a brilliant and a creative attacking midfielder bought by Arsenal for a club record fee of £42.5 million, was exactly the kind of a player United are thoroughly lacking. Their bids for Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas also ended in failure. While the Spaniard continued to live his life in La Liga, United’s boss, David Moyes, made a surprising decision to snap up Fellaini (£27.5 million) and has a totally different approach compared to United’s perspective, as well as their style of play.

What United have been crying out for in the last couple of years was for a decent playmaker to support the strikers. This trait is not seen in the Belgian midfielder, who had managed to create just one goal-scoring chance last season, certainly proving he is not a attack minded player.

Even though the Afro haired Belgian has a pass success rate of 89.1 percent, he lacks the creativity, boost and energy Manchester United deserves. Moreover, he is not a kind of a player who can dictate the tempo of the game. But the 6’5” midfielder has an excellent tactical and positioning sense, which enabled him to to score 11 goals in 31 games last season.

The fact that United should not have made the purchase of Fellaini was clearly indicated in the Manchester derby held on Sunday, where the the 25-year-old was totally lost and was outclassed by Yaya Toure in central midfield zone.

“Out of Fellaini and Ozil, you would really want Ozil to be your playmaker” - Former Manchester United striker and legend, Teddy Sheringham.

Fellaini would have been an excellent choice for the Gunners as most of the Arsenal midielders like Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta and Cazorla are not physically intimidating as Marouane.

Unlike Fellaini, Ozil is a complete team player who adds pace and the much needed spark to the team’s game play, besides creating space for his team mates. The German, who has already provided three assists in the Premier League was last season’s top assist-getter (26).

He is a player who brings goals, assists and midfield-control skill and has so far, really coped up with the Arsenal way of play. Coach Arsene Wenger believes there is more to come from Ozil. The 25-year-old is well known for his technical ability and improvisation as an attacking midfielder.

“Ozil is unique, there is no copy of him not even a bad one. He is the best number 10 in the world. Everyone loves him and sees a bit of Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane in him.” - Former Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho.

Here are two videos with Ozil’s and Fellaini’s skills and goals: