5 Players Arsenal must hold onto next summer

#2 Mesut Özil

Mesut Özil was in formidable form against Huddersfield

Whilst Alexis Sanchez is often dispatching the scoring chances, Özil is the one creating them. The German maestro was named 'Man of the Match' in the fixture against Huddersfield and sits joint fourth in the assist rankings this season, having set up five goals this campaign.

That statistic adds to the impressive tally of 47 Premier League assists in 137 appearances for the 29-year-old. After having come under fire for questions surrounding his work-rate and adaptability during his early Arsenal tenure, Özil has since grown into one of the most beloved players in the current Gunners team.

With a string of excellent displays this term and back-to-back MOTM awards in his last two outings, Özil has all but put to bed claims that he is inconsistent. After the Huddersfield game, Olivier Giroud came out to say how vital the former-Real Madrid midfielder is to Arsenal's set-up, claiming, "he is a top player and we need him. He makes the best choice most of the time. He knows when he has to pass the ball or to shoot and when you are in a good position you always think he thinks assist before scoring".

Özil is certainly one of the more unselfish players within the Arsenal team and has also upped his defensive contribution in the 2017/18 season.

Losing Özil would mean Arsenal losing their most potent creative outlet; there's no other player quite like the German in the team so getting him to put pen to paper before the close of the season could be the most important business the club has engaged in in a very long time.