As a man who has followed Arsenal very closely during most of my life, I was hyped to see Ozil arrive to the club. But to me, Ozil was a player that needed to be surrounded by a few other world class players to succeed. He is the assist king. Not a natural-born scorer. His passes were on point, but he did not always have the best players to follow on his passes. At least that's how I felt growing up as a teen and watching the team.

I'd say he peaked in 15/16 when he almost broke the assist record, however he's become a victim of the changes in football in recent years where the sole No 10 player has been phased out and everyone now plays high press with 8/10 hybrids.

So basically man's had everything stripped from him because he stood up for what he believed in. It's unbelievably tragic 💔

Mesut Ozil was one of the most talented players/midfielders of his generation, the ammouny of assists he got are insane, and if only his prime would have been longer, he would be reagrded as one of the greatest to do it

Ozil is the best example of a player your children will ask you about. Of how good he actually was.

Its so sad to see such a class player , in his downfall

There is one more aspect to his story with Germany that you probably wont know about unless youre from Germany. Many Germans perceive our turkish diaspora, or atleast a large part of it, as being unwilling to integrate into german society. They see them call themselves proud turks, raising the turkish flag or even diffimate Germany in extreme cases. Many Turks in Germany saw Özil as a traitor for playing in the german national team instead of the turkish one. When Turkey and Germany met in international games you would have masses of turks( and german turks) boo Özil and call him a traitor. Germans on the other hand made Özil a Symbol of integration of sorts, praising him for his loyalty to germany and for not giving in to the pressure by turks. But when he posed with Erdogan and called him "his president" the germans that supported him all this time felt betrayed. Seeing this beacon of integration having his allegiance called into question once again sparked many debates about the integration of turks in germany and these debates have a tendency to turn toxic and racist as it is a very delicate matter to say the least. I think all of this was a very unfortunate misunderstanding. Özil probably just did the thing that seemed most sensible to him by playing for the team with the higher chance of winning an international trophy.

Özil is a legend. Even with everyone trying to drag his name through the mud often he stuck to his values. Wish he had more supportive clubs

Do a video on Karim Benzema. He was super underrated during Ronaldo’s time in Madrid and now people are finally appreciating him. The man is going through his second prime

He never should have left Real Madrid imo, you could tell that Ozil loved playing with the likes of C. Ronaldo and Benzema. Ozil was one of the best midfielders in the world back then, and what everyone loved was his symbiotic connection with Ronaldo everytime Ozil made a great pass, Ronaldo would score 9 times out of 10. He was a forwards dream player. In fact if you look at Ozil's best XI it's mostly comprised of Real Madrid players. He should have gone to teams like Bayern, Juve or Man City after leaving Madrid. Like I get that he did great with Arsenal in his first season, but it was evident to see that he wasn't enjoying his football that much there, like I remember in the games where Arsenal got battered against Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea he was sulking. He clearly wasn't used to regular humblings. But to his dismay it never really improved much from then on, there would be some occasions of his brilliance but ultimately Arsenal was a sinking ship.

Özil plays a role (advanced playmaking CAM) that has sort of been phased out over the last 5 seasons. He was a skilled player but he was never all that physically gifted in terms of pace or strength. A couple of injuries cost him whatever speed he had left which definitely affected his overall game. Still, he was a one of a kind player and I miss watching him play. He's one of those players who could regularly lift entire stadiums out of their seats without scoring a goal.

The content, the dad jokes, passion in your tone. Continue with this channel. I love Football Iconic

Very good vid. I was unaware that he was so charitable. I remember getting mad at him when I saw "El Chucky" Lozano easily dribble past him to score vs Germany in the world cup. However, I also felt that he was unfairly thrown under the bus multiple times. The way he refused a pay cut now seems totally reasonable, and that he had the balls to stand up to china was admirable.

Amazing video as usual man. As a Madrid fan, I’d love to see a same type of video for Benzema, since many people are recently understanding how crucial and crazy good he is, even though he’s been world class for a decade consistently. Would be a really cool video if you could show his full road, from Lyon, to struggles at the start in Madrid, to being overshadowed by CR7 to 21/22 and his hat-trick this week vs PSG. Edit: He did it, one of his best yet! 10/10, keep going! 👑⚪️

One of the most polarising figures in football, he literally became an icon.

Don’t care what anyone says, he’s top 3 best playmakers I have ever seen. Miss this guy so much, he deserved arsenals support but he gained support from the world

As a Real Madrid fan, I remember when I was 16 and all the talk at school was about Ozil moving to Arsenal on deadline day. What a loss.

Yeah, good vid man. I remember seeing him in the 2010 WC, thinking that we just weren't going to get players like that any more, or we would have to make them ourselves. It was so exciting when we signed him, although at the time it seemed odd as what we talked about needing was a successor to Viera and defensive solidarity. Seeing the good times was fun, but the way he left was a particularly dark time for us. The super league thing was at a similar time, and it felt like new mistakes were compounding old ones. Seems like the boss has got things in order since then. The back 5 looks great, and the process seems like it was worth trusting. As we are where we are now, I am happy he went and wish him all the best, but I wish we treated him with more class on the way out... Ya Gunners ya! X

I really loved Ozil's attempt as a footballer/celebrity in raising awareness for Uighur genocide, even though it's not related, he's a legend

When you’re soo classy people call you lazy because it’s effortless for you to do, the best playmaker with a platinum touch and a eagle eye.

one of the best playmaker started he's career %0 to 100% He's passing , imagination,and he's control of the ball is unbeliveable and he have he's own move like Ronaldo chop

This man at Real Madrid was soo good he got almost 25+ assists in every season at Real Madrid.I still don’t understand why wenger put him on the bloody left wing 🤦‍♀️

One of the most situations in the last years for a plyer needed to be discussed and from you that's something to watch of course, you told it right and got eyes open for different points of view Keep going as usual

CONGRATS ON 100K SUBSSS. Been following you for a while now. Great content mate. Keep it up👏👏

You forgot to mention that Madrid didn't want to sell him. But by the end of 12/13 season, Ozil's father wanted Perez to increase Ozil's salary and make him joint top earner of the team. Perez declined and this deteriorated the relationship btw perez and Ozil's agent (his father). Thus, he warned that if his demands aren't met, his son will leave Madrid. So, club officials had to sell him.

Love this guy so much you can’t imagine.. as a life long arsenal fan from the 90s I’ll tell you there’s not been many players we had that were “top top quality” by far best CAM Iv seen maybe same as iniesta but this guy open our minds and hearts and deserved way better.. since arsenal did what they did I swear Iv not supported them.. I don’t even watch the games anymore… THIS MAN DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER and in god we trust… I was dumb enough to search for this man on transfer markets before he came and when he came he did exactly what we needed.. BROKE ARSENALS TROPHY DROUT WHILE PLAYING WITH GIROUD IN FRONT OF YOU DESERVED A BALON D’OR IN ITSELF

Great video man, good perspective and insights. Keep it up!

Came across the Leicester video the other day and I’m literally binging all your content, good stuff mate 👌🏼 you’re also really well spoken, you have yourself a new sub 🔥💯

The guy every striker wished to play together with. For me he will always be the assist king ! Danke, für deinen Beitrag zum WM Sieg in Brasilien, Mesut.

Great player and what i would call an "assist king". Midfield Masterclass

bro i really liked the way you told the stories, thanks for the video.

love your videos man well elaborated well spoken great cuts and awesome memes

As an Arsenal fan, love the guy. I remember that goal he scored in the champions league. I even remember when he did that celebration with the M. He made me change the way I saw the game and even wanted his cleats. I enjoyed more Alexis but mesut stayed through the bad and the good and for that he is an ARSENAL LEGEND

this also had to do with the "dying" of the traditional no.10 role , and Ozil is one of them. Even at Madrid, Ozil rarely do the press or tracking of the ball. He got Khedira and Xabi to do that for him so he could stay up and focus on creating chances. At Arsenal, he has players like Cazorla, Elneny, and Coquelin to protect him. And later on after the departure of Cazorla, Ramsey, Coquelin, and Elneny (on loan), Ozil finally loses the protection he had in the midfield and that's when he started under-performing. He has to do what he never did before, to press, defend, and tracking, he lost his stamina before the full 90 minutes and often had to be subbed off or start from the bench.

great video as always, keep it up

I love your mentioning of companies and clubs hypocrisies about what they call “politics” Much love man Also amazing video

He is underrated because the team he used to play was filled with some stars... But he was probably one of the greatest midfielder of modern era..❤️

Your work is just so high-quality, every single time.

Ozil : Tweet something about Uygurs Arsenal : We don’t do politics Russia : Invade Ukraine Arsenal : Football Stands Together The hypocrisy is deafening.

I was lucky enough to see him play at his peak, he could do more in five our six touches of the ball than most players could do in a whole match. Things turned sour but he still had a great career on balance.

It's a really interesting video but my memory of his Arsenal career is a bit different. He was a brilliant player up until around 2017-18, where the squad as a whole was also falling apart a bit. You noted that he was criticized in the past, but I think you underplayed just how much pressure he was under at arsenal. Even when he was on form and performing at his best, he was constantly under scrutiny for his lack of defensive contributions, or lack of distance run. Whenever arsenal won, he was the savior, but when they lost he was often deemed the culprit. The expectations for the club were higher, perhaps raised when he was signed. Many fans and media believed Arsenal were title challengers and should perhaps be winning the league, even though the squad was probably overperforming for a few seasons. And when the results started to drop, Ozil was ostracized. His controversies around China and Turkey also definitely contributed to this, but I would think that some of this criticism played at least some part in his drop off.

Always with the heat💯all love from Kenya 🇰🇪

Thank you for making this video!

Prime Ozil was my favorite he was talented and when you need a goal, he'll find the right moment and swing it right to you he was insane

Good video. It still doesn't make sense to me why he was sold from Madrid, especially after achieving the most assists 3 years in a row. Luka Modric has been outstanding for Madrid so they brought in a good replacement. I wish you spoke more on how he is currently performing at Fenerbache. It seems as soon as a player leaves the top 5 leagues all news about them dries up unless you go out of your way to research it.

Great video as always and good points.

As a dortmund fan.I will really appreciate if you do a video about klopp's dortmund.He build an exciting young team and was very successful from 2010 to 2013

What a player watched him at 10 years old for Germany in the 2010 world and he instantly became my fave player then 4 years later I heard he was signing for arsenal ❤️might not have ended well but real fans still love him

Lots of CAMs have declined over the years: Ozil, Gotze, James, Mata, Rooney, Isco, Sneijder, Eriksen, Dele Alli, Coutinho, Nasri, Kagawa, Kaka, etc.

Congrats on 100K subs

Love your videos dude !!!

I wish he had joined a top team to stayed at Madrid rather than joining Arsenal. Arsenal was a decent team but not a top team; they had some good players and a lot of average ones. If u have the right players around Ozil, he will give u the most assists every season, like he did in Real Madrid. He’s not a compete enough player to do everything, but his vision, skill and playmaking was (and still is) some of the best we’ve ever seen.

This video hits hard for me. His signing to Arsenal was what my younger kid self latched onto. From that point I have had to support arsenal. In the early more successful days, I was a Ozil fan which meant I was a Arsenal fan. During his downfall however, I really had to step back and sort of went through a football identity crisis. On the end of it all I stood with the team over the player and there never goes a day where I wonder if it was a good choice. At least this new arsenal team trying to make a case for my choice being good. I hope Oil is doing well though.

I fully supported Özil in every decision he’s made his comments and more. Good to speak out on events. Football clubs rally on events as well BLM, Ukraine, etc. But when they get singled out they turn their backs on the subjects. One of my favorites players loved him in his time with Germany and he was a monster for RM and Arsenal. Wish things turned out better for him in all honesty.

Mesut ozil with a hairband is one of the best cam ever played football

Even as a Barca fan he was one of my favorite player in the world, I feelt really bad for him when I heard the news about he being a racism victim from his own country' people after knowing ALL the thing that he did for his country. Its just, doesn't really make any sense.

U gotta fell bad for him, he seems such a good guy even tho im Barca fan and i hated his guts during his days in Madrid, probably top 5 or top 3 playmakers of the 2010s decade

Great video, great insight 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Great video, keep it up!

Özils career reminds me personally of a "when keeping it real goes wrong" sketch by Dave Chappelle. But I don't know, at the end of the day, it's about if you can look into the mirror without feeling some kind of way - that is, for some people with integrity at least, way more worth than any cup, medal or money. I personally have a lot of respect for this guy and his decisions.

Ozil's a luxury player and his inability to adapt to the changes in football is quite sad for a formerly world class player. Top teams nowadays dont have that singular player that performs just one task brilliantly, every player has to be proficient at many tasks as a result of total football/collective football. I genuinely believe that had Ozil developed a better work ethic and or not joined Arsenal, we'd still be talking about his current greatness in the same breath as Modric or Muller

really well made video. Thank you

So close to 100k man

Ozil will remain as the one of the best and most gifted playmakers in football history 🔴⚪〽️

would love if you could use more advanced stats like the metrics you used in the eden hazard video where you used dribbles and fouls drawn. love the videos.

There are special players and there are special aka unique players. You have special midfield players in Xabi Alonso and Luka Modric mode where they can go to different teams and play under different coaches and systems and still shine. Then you have special unique players like Ozil or Couthinho, you need coaches that can put an arm around them, make a system that takes advantage of their unique skills while also keeping your options open for diverse attack modern game requires. Wegner was the perfect coach for Ozil, he could build a team around a creative, finesse player while hiding the player deficiencies as best as he could. It's also not a surprise that Couthinho is looking better and better playing under his former teammate, Gerrard has unique knowledge and connections to call up Klopp for advice if he chooses to, as to how to best deploy Couthinho.

Congrats man ur almost to 100k

He was a waste of talent plain and simple. He was clearly a world class player but if he had any sort of work ethic or mental toughness, there wouldn't be any doubt surrounding him. He was lazy, arrogant and never performed in the big games (at least club wise). I've read alot of comments saying he was discriminated against by arsenal/germany but none about his fenerbahçe release. The dude is a self righteous fraud and proved that he was a luxury player with the inability to adapt

There is a golden thread running through his career - falling out with his club managers. And now he has fallen out at Fenerbahce . So there is clearly something wrong with his temperament. You cannot always make the same mistake. It shows he hasnt learned from his experiences.

you're almost at 100k subs!

Iam happy and grateful for football iconic b/c its entertaining and super professional,thank you.

10yrs ago easily one of the best Midfielders in the world.

This guy will always be remembered and respected.

i feel like ozil is an interesting case for multiple reasons, most apparent of which are his young age(being only 33, but it feels like hes 35+ from how long hes been about), and also his just complete obsoletion as a player. definitely similar burnout to what we saw with wayne rooney, but i also couldnt help but think that he was a player stuck in the past after alexis left arsenal. alexis covered up ozils flaws in the modern game quite well, and allowed him someone to operate in tandem with. whilst before alexis came in mesut could operate on his own as youd expect from a classical 10, as time, and the game, progressed he could no longer do so and we saw fhat when alexis was injured//benched at times. theres no doubt in my mind that had he moved to say juve or inter, he couldve flourished after the transition of the game itself, but he got stuck in a rut at the emirates. as a result what shouldve been a storied, trophy laden career for a man who is arguably among the best passers of the ball that this world has ever seen, piqued far too soon and will always be a what if. on his day ozil was for me on par with the likes of kroos, david silva, and xavi when it came to feel for the game and ability to pick out a pass; not to mention his wand of a right foot. world class player, diminished to less than an afterthought.

Nice Video! Just goes to show that nothing is constant! The good or the bad times.. Also it shows how external factors or actions can have repreccussions despite one not being wrong to comment on china or have association with Turkey PM. Its all about how you are perceived by those in power!

A player: Jose A manager: Zlatan Sounds about right

Mesut Ozil was one of the most beautiful football player ever existed. Pure magic ... People love Zidane and Ronaldinho but nobody gives enough credit to this amazing talent actually amazes me. He was pivotal for 2014 Germany World Cup winning squad. But nobody gives enough credit to him even they always insult him. Which actually was the main reason for his downfall

this was an outstanding objectively spoken report. amazing job

I'll never forget him in the south Africa world cup. I'm not a fan of regular club football but I always watch the world cup, and he was one of my favorite players then.

Özil's relationship with Arsene Wenger, though fruitful, wasn't without its frictions. Özil reportedly sat out voluntarily for away games against physical, defensive, Northern opponents - and Wenger always covered for him, citing niggling injuries. Whether this is fully true or not is speculation, but a pattern emerged in Özil's Arsenal career that he was notably absent from the squad for matches against opponents like Stoke fairly frequently. Unai Emery did not cotton to this expectation of treatment and sympathetic covering-for, and it culminated in Özil's substitution for 18-year-old Joe Willock in the 2018 Europa League final, when Özil famously erupted against Emery on the bench, saying "you are not a coach" and being caught on camera doing so. Emery, grasping at straws when his attack sputtered in 2019, reinstated Özil to the lineup, and effectively undermined his own authority in the dressing room, such that the team visibly downed tools before his dismissal. An interesting point about Özil's Islamic faith: he had many fellow Muslims in the dressing room at the time, including Mustafi, Kolasinac, and Elneny. Özil's status as a star player and his relative leadership position saw a clique in the team form around him, comprised of Mustafi/Kolasinac/Sokratis, and Arteta saw the influence of these players - and their extremely uneven performances - as a malign factor in his team rebuild. Özil, as a frozen-out player, elicited much sympathy from this group, which pitted them against the manager. It is no coincidence that all of the aforementioned players (as well as Willian, and now Aubameyang) have been paid by Arsenal to go away as part of a dressing room clean-out. Of course, this has to do with trimming the wage bill, but Arteta has a rigid set of expectations for his players, and will not countenance any challenge to his authority. Özil, for all his virtues as a player, has never had a problem confronting his managers (Mourinho, Ancellotti, Emery, and finally Arteta). It took until the arrival of Martin Ødegaard on a permanent basis for Arsenal's squads to replace the playmaking prowess of the German, but have done so with an astronomical work-rate player with an ingratiating manner and a decidedly professional approach to training and team play. Whether he reaches the heights of Özil's best seasons remains to be seen, but the promise of his recent performances is indeed tantalizing.

Özil was one of my favorite players specially when it comes to midfielders in recent years, the vision this guy had was something else. Unfortunately he was a part of my cursed Arsenal team front five from FIFA 14 that consisted of Arda Turan, Özil, Bale, Hazard and Balotelli. All of them had their glories but never reached their full potential.

Imagine what a frontline of Sanchez, Auba, Laca and Özil could’ve achieved if everything clicked into place?

He was right with every decision he took. At least he had the balls to do whatever he did. Most of us would want to stand up against the bad things in this world, but we would not be the first one to stand up, we will follow if someone else leads. Well Arsenal did the same thing, they don't really care about this war, its because everyone else is doing they are doing it. Simple as that. I am an Arsenal fan and I would never forget the deadline day we signed him and him making an assist on his first game against sunderland. Always been a Mesut fan, a class player.

Can you make a video on forlan? I think he had a lot of potential to be one of the best and i absolutely loved that guy and his goals.

I was furiously commenting about you forgetting the Uyghur support, then you brought it up.

When he was in his prime he ran the most in the arsenal team. I think he knew arsenal were in the decline and he alone and a few others couldn’t bring arsenal out their hole. I feel sorry for old bug eyes, his lack of goals got him out the Real Madrid team and his arsenal were finished. He does however have a long career and that is a success itself

One of the players I used to enjoy watching phenomenon playmaker and pure magic 🎩

What a player ... the vision of an eagle with the delicate touch of a loving mother, and the defending of, well a chair or a bucket i suppose, but his passing ability is unreal. Would happily welcome him at United.

Never had the stomach for a fight. Classy, yes, but went missing when it mattered most. i.e. a typical Wenger player.

Let’s face it Ozil was just one of those players who peaked early on in his career. There’s nothing wrong with that most either peak early or are late bloomers only the true rare gems like the ronaldos messis maradonas zidanes and peles have 20+ years of constant glory for both club and country

Ozil came and conquered. He will always be remembered as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and when I'll be old he will be in the Classic 11 squad

He went on from assisting Ronaldo to his years being wasted at Arsenal, a club that ultimately didn't give a shit about him and ditched him the first opportunity they had. He is my goat

He literally fell like a stone after that huge contract at Arsenal tbh.

He is very talented , and it shows how football has double standards.

Thanks for the info on this great player. And sure he seems like a nice guy.

As of this week, Mesut Ozil was informed that he will not be playing in Fenerbahce this year, and he unfollowed the club on his socials. He will sit 2 years more without doing nothing and get his money... For anyone that is interested, he came to Fenerbahce without proper condition. But he was forced into squad. Fenerbahce's rising playermaker Pelkas was benched, and Fenerbahce lost its charm as the team's chemistry was broken. When Mesut was about to catch some form, he got a serious ankle injury and could not play for the rest of the season, Fenerbahce also lost the league. The coach was sacked, interim coach was also sacked. And Vitor Pereria came, people were hoping Mesut would play better. Even though the coach tried to be positive about him, the problems started to arise as Vitor was playing 3 line defence and Mesut's role was out. He stated he does not like that, he made famous retired Fenerbahce Legend player to speak publicy against the coach and the campaign was successful, Vitor was sacked. New interim coach started to gave more chances to Ozil, his game was good, he was the top scorer of the team but eventually he showed his ego again and started to protest being subbed. Leading the incident where he insulted the coach. Then obviously, he was sacked from the team. Jorge Jesus became Fenerbahce's manager, and he said publicly he is not thinking Ozil in the squad. And this marked Mesut Ozil's football career an end... Nowadays in his childhood club, everyone hates him. He does not have any passion for football, but his business deals. Even so club president openly declared he should focus on football rather than business deals. Great player, but shit personality. GG WP.

As a spurs fan I keep Ozil in high regards What the man did was great

Those lovely days when he' was still playing, most of his same aged players are still playing in big clubs and Ozil in verge of retiring💔

For me he will always be the best midfield player ever❤️❤️❤️if he would have join united during his prime he would have been the best mid player ever we miss you ozil.....

An absolute legend, am a chelsea fan, but absolutely loved Ozil as a player He's just been unfortunate, but thats life.