Mesut Ozil is without question a fans’ favourite at Arsenal and has earned that tag from the first day he arrived at the Emirates from Real Madrid in 2013.
The Germany midfielder has begun the current campaign in even better form than saw him top the Premier League assists chart, with 19, last season – and has added goals to his game this term, with seven in 17 appearances.
His current goals tally include a first professional hat-trick of his career and Arsenal legend Robert Pires believes Arsene Wenger has finally found the heir to former Gunners maestro Dennis Bergkamp.
Ozil has been impressive at the heart of Arsenal’s midfield and will have a vital impact on whether or not the north Londoners can secure their first Premier League title in 13 years.
“Something has clicked,” Pires admitted to Sky Sports. “What’s happened in the head is a click because he’s scored a lot of goals.
“This is a difference between the last season with Mesut Ozil and now because he’s thinking just for himself, and sometimes when you are in front of the target it is very important to score a goal.
“Mesut has very good qualities, he can normally score a minimum of 12 goals during the Premier League so in my time the maestro was Dennis Bergkamp, and now it is Mesut Ozil.
“I love them both because they play very good football but they play for the team. Not for himself, they play for the team. This point is very important for the future and of course for Arsenal.”
Bergkamp bagged 120 goals during an 11-year spell at Arsenal, which saw the Holland forward retire at the club.
In 1998, the Dutchman won both major Player of the Year awards and came second of a list of Arsenal’s 50 greatest players, which was voted for by fans via the club website.
And Ozil is starting to show signs of following in the footsteps of Bergkamp.
But that legendary status will not be handed to the 28-year-old lightly, and Wenger admitted recently that the German can’t be considered in the same bracket as Bergkamp if he doesn’t commit his long-term future to the club.
After a drawn out saga, Ozil finally looks set to put pen to paper on a new deal that will see him earn £200,000-a-week and keep him at the club for another four years.
Wenger has been desperate to secure the futures of both Ozil and fellow key man Alexis Sanchez, but neither have yet to officially confirm they will remain at the Emirates for the long term.
Both will be looking to ensure Arsenal are seriously challenging for the Premier League title and in with a decent chance of winning other domestic and European honours before officially signing respective new deals.
However, both will be encouraged by the club’s start to the campaign which sees them just two points short of league leaders Liverpool, with 24 points.