Wenger: ‘If you love to watch football, you love Ozil’

Daniel Storey

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger piled more praise on Mesut Ozil after watching his side beat Everton 2-1.

Wenger was speaking after watching Ozil assist Olivier Giroud’s opening goal. He created four other chances and was again in wonderful form. “Nicking a living” feels an awfully long time ago.

And Wenger was only too keen to laud Ozil’s current form and style of play:

“He is a top-class player, honestly. I think rather than talking about him I would rather watch him play again. If you love to watch football, you love to watch Ozil.

“It is a combination of quality of the touch, intelligence and team attitude. He is a real team player, I said that yesterday in the press conference. He puts his talent at the service of the team and he wants to help the team with everything he does. That makes him efficient.”

In the build-up to the game, Wenger said that the German was now entering the peak of his career:

“He is 27 now, Wenger said. “It is the golden age of a football player, 27-31, 32, the age when you know your job, you realise suddenly that it is not only important to play, it is important to win as well. You go into that period thinking: ‘Finally’.

“He is focused on his job. Talent wise, I think deeply he is a very collective player. He is a very respectful guy. If you tell him to do that he will do it for you.