Mesut Ozil turned 28 on Saturday and Arsenal fans are no doubt pleased to have him during some of his best years at the top.
The German playmaker is renowned for his ability to set up his teammates, so much so that Cristiano Ronaldo was the first to bemoan his departure from Real Madrid when he made the move to the Premier League.
Here are five of his best assists.
ARSENAL 5-0 ASTON VILLA: February 1, 2015
SCORER: Olivier Giroud
Arsenal went 1-0 up against Aston Villa when Mesut Ozil played in Olivier Giroud with a sublime back heel flick that put the Frenchman clean through on goal despite his poor touch.
The Gunners went on to thump the ultimately relegated Villa side and Ozil’s touch for the opener was one of the assists of the season.
VILLAREAL 1-1 REAL MADRID: March 21, 2012
SCORER: Cristiano Ronaldo
Marcos Senna’s late equaliser saw Villarreal secure a 1-1 draw against nine-man Real Madrid who suffered a huge blow in the La Liga title race.
The opener for Madrid however came via a delightful one-two between Ronaldo and Ozil with the latter’s first-time back heel return for the Portuguese setting up a superb goal.
AJAX 0-4 REAL MADRID: November 23, 2010
SCORER: Karim Benzema
Real Madrid secured three points in comfortable fashion, coming away with a 4-0 victory. One of those goals was set up quite brilliantly by Ozil.
Xabi Alonso’s ball over the top found the German’s diagonal run into the box before he cushioned it into the path of Benzema with a nonchalant back heel. The Frenchman’s finish into the top corner was fitting of the move.
ARSENAL 1-2 WATFORD: March 13, 2016
SCORER: Danny Welbeck
Watford stunned the then FA Cup holders Arsenal to book their place in the 2016 semi-finals. Ozil’s superb assist saw Welbeck pull one back late on but it was ultimately in vain.
REAL MADRID 4-0 GETAFE: May 10, 2011
SCORER: Ronaldo
After a slow start to the game, Real Madrid made the breakthrough in the 24th minute. Following an incredible outside-of-the-boot cross from the right flank by Mesut Ozil, Ronaldo out-jumped Cata Diaz and sent his leaping headed effort into the back of the net.
