Mesut Özil has Arsenal daring to dream of Premier League glory

Eye contact. According to Theo Walcott, it is all that Mesut Özil needs. Once the Arsenal playmaker has locked on, the creative sparks fly. It is the speed of Özil’s execution that has taken the breath away. “You think: ‘Give the ball now,’” Arsène Wenger has said. “You have not finished your thinking and the ball has gone already.”

Arsenal are riding high at the turn of the Premier League season and Walcott believes that in his 10 years at the club, this is the best team he has played for. It is Özil who has ignited the possibilities.

In April 2014, towards the end of Özil’s first season at Arsenal – which had been marked by highs and lows – Wenger predicted the German would be a contender for the player of the year awards in 2014‑15. It is worth remembering the line the manager used to support his argument. “The improvement will be in goals, assists and his presence in the game,” he said. It was only Wenger’s timing that was out.

“Without a doubt, Mesut has been the player of this season so far,” Walcott said. “The stats show that but it’s more than that. It’s his work rate through the games. He is only going to get better and better. You don’t have many left-footers and they make that movement from out to in, they make the bend of the ball. You just have to make eye contact with Mesut and, once you get that, he knows where you’re going to go.”

Özil has 16 assists in the Premier League and three goals; he has two more goals in the Champions League. On Monday, he took Bournemouth apart in the 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium, setting up the first for Gabriel and scoring the second himself. Özil laid on a total of nine chances, the majority of them for Walcott.

“Mesut has told me to keep making runs,” Walcott said. “He just spots it. I need to help him out by putting the ball in the net. Mesut is just a special player and he is in the form of his life. Some of the things you see on the pitch … his goal against Bournemouth alone. He didn’t break stride, it was like he was jogging. He just slows things down when he is playing.”

Newcastle United visit the Emirates on Saturday and could be forgiven for feeling afraid. For Arsenal, the fear is that Özil will break down. Wenger gave him a week off during the last international break and he said that, of late, Özil “doesn’t practise a lot, we rest him a lot between games.”

Red zones have become the buzz phrase around Arsenal’s finely-tuned stars and, when available, Wenger always plays Özil. He dare not leave him out, particularly while Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere are injured.

“You look, as well, at the impact Özil can have on other players,” Wenger said. “The Premier League is very tight and if you go into a decisive game and you do that [rest Özil], the other players think subconsciously: ‘Why?’ They don’t tell you but they think: ‘Why?’ Even the player himself does.”

Wenger advanced one of those theories of his that is designed to soothe anxiety but does not always bear scrutiny. “Özil is a guy who, once the basic fitness is there between the games, he wants to play,” Wenger said. “There are types of players and sometimes the most technical players … it looks like it demands less energy for them to play. It is just natural for them.”

Özil made a slow start to last season after his World Cup triumph with Germany and he was ruled out for three months from early October with a knee problem. But when he came back, he eased into fine form and Arsenal finished the season strongly.

Özil has not looked back since. His relationships with team-mates such as Walcott are now established and there is the hope that the club can once again enjoy a powerful second half to the season, boosted by the return of injured players. If they do, a first title in 12 years could be their reward.

“We don’t want to look ahead of ourselves but we have a history of ending the season well,” Walcott said. “We are getting players back fit and we have one of the best squads when we have everyone fit. I truly believe that. It’s the best team I’ve been involved in and when you have Mesut and the way he is playing, it gets the best out of everyone.

“Players came in against Bournemouth who hadn’t been playing too much and they did fantastically well and that just shows the strength in depth we have in this team, and the pressure on places. We have the confidence and it’s just flowing out there.”

Walcott also talked about Arsenal’s last-16 Champions League draw with Barcelona – the team who eliminated them in 2010 and 2011, and beat them in the 2006 final. “I’d actually totally forgotten when it was the draw,” he said. “We have a group message and the guys were saying: ‘You won’t believe who we’ve got.’ Obviously Barcelona’s three up front are their main threat and it will be a tough draw but we have good qualities in this team and we can do some damage.

“It will be special and when we play them away [in the second leg], it is my birthday so, hopefully, it’ll be a good moment for me and the team. If you want to reach the best in the game, you’ve got to play the best.”

Walcott believes that with Özil, he is alongside the best.