Wenger gush over Ozil
Arsene Wenger hailed Mesut Özil as the best player in the Premier League and an equal of Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp following another influential display in a 2-0 win over Bournemouth
- Football Haberleri
- 30 Aralık 2015, 10:26:07
When asked if Özil is now the best player in the Premier League, he said simply: "Look at the number of assists and they speak for him."
The Frenchman also made a comparison to Dutch forward Bergkamp, who was a major inspiration during Wenger's early days in north London.
"Bergkamp was more of a goal scorer than him. But now Özil has become a goal scorer too. They are comparable," he said. All this is about a player who last season was labelled as a luxury by some onlookers, singled out by Henry as a someone who needed to "step up his game" and accused of drifting out of matches by German legend Lothar Matthaus. Throughout it all, however, Wenger remained staunchly loyal to a player he signed from Real Madrid, insisting that Özil would eventually become a Footballer of the Year in England.
"Özil was the focal point of our team," Wenger said after goals from the German and defender Gilberto, from an Özil corner, clinched a crucial victory against Bournemouth that sent Arsenal one point clear at the top of the Premier League.
"I don't know if it was his best performance; I have seen a few good games from him this season.
"What is important is that he convinces everyone he's not only a fantasy player, but he's a player who is ready to work for the team very hard.
"He's added scoring goals to his assists as well. Overall he's a complete player."
Özil's transformation into Arsenal's talisman has been fascinating to watch, but what has impressed most this season is his level of consistency - and at the age of 27 Wenger does not yet believe he has reached his peak.
"What's important is that he becomes as good as he can be - and he's on the way. Is there a lot left? I don't know but at the minute what he's doing is absolutely fantastic," Wenger said.
"In a career you have to be better every game. Some people manage to have that focus, that consistency - and some cannot.
"He shows that he is always consistently going upwards."
Özil is not the only player at Arsenal setting records. Goalkeeper Petr Cech reached a new Premier League mark of 170 clean sheets in his career by keeping out Bournemouth, drawing praise from his manager ahead of a home game against Newcastle on Saturday.
"I think he can be very proud of that," said Wenger. "It's a remarkable achievement. People don't realize how much commitment, how much focus is behind that.
"And on top of that he's a remarkably talented goalkeeper.
"Consistency for me is the most important achievement for somebody."
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