Shocking Stats When You Compare Ozil And Hazard In Big Games
Dec 22, 2016 at 3:25 PM
There’s no doubt that Mesut Ozil is a fantastically gifted footballer.
But for all the joy he gives Gunners fans, he can also cause them a massive amount of frustration and despair.
Particularly when he takes to the field during the higher profile games against the club’s rivals and fellow title contenders.
Too frequently the Germany international is accused of going missing and not asserting himself the way he should when the big boys roll into town.
However, there is a case to suggest that he isn’t quite as bad as some fans make him out to be, and after looking at the stats we’re bringing you the results of his efforts in comparison to players of a similar position during Arsenal’s bigger games this season.
So far, Ozil has featured against the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea, but missed the early season encounter with Liverpool.
Arsenal won only one of these games (Chelsea), though two ended in 1-1 draws (Spurs and United) with only City managing to get the better of them (2-1).
So four points from four games is not a bad return when considering the opposition, and while Ozil could have contributed more, the stats would suggest that he’s not been anywhere near as bad as some Arsenal fans would make out.
OZIL VS HAZARD
Before Chelsea got their motor running this season, they fell to a 3-0 scoreline to a rampant Arsenal early in the campaign.
And on the day, Ozil dominated his Belgian counterpart, bagging himself a goal in a Man of the Match performance.
Not only that, Ozil was more effective all over the pitch. Recording a 90% passing ration compared to Hazard’s 84% showed he was more effective with the ball.
He created three chances, while Hazard created one, and got in five crosses, which was five more than the Chelsea man. They were level in terms of take ons but Ozil proved his worth defensively by clocking up more tackles with three (3:0).
This may have been a rare off day for Hazard, but you can only take on what’s in front of you, and on the day Ozil definitely turned up.
OZIL VS ERIKSEN
While the game ended in a stalemate, and the graph shows that Erikson was the higher rated player on the afternoon, the stats would show that Ozil contributed more.
As you can see in the image, Ozil’s passing percentage was greater than the Dane’s and he created three more chances.
He recorded 10 more crosses than Eriksen and achieved more take ons.
However, Erikson proved more decisive in his defensive duties, chalking up two clearances to Ozil’s none and recorded a 50% tackle rate, which is double what Ozil managed. He also made more blocks than the Arsenal man with three (Ozil clocked none).
A big criticism of Ozil is that he doesn’t do enough defensively, but as an attacker, he outshone his north London counterpart on several factors.
OZIL VS HERRERA
A 1-1 draw away to Manchester United is never anything to be sneezed at, even when they’re not in form, but Ozil definitely could have contributed more here.
The German international fell behind massively when it came to chances created and ariel duels, but matched the Spaniard in terms of crossing and take ons.
They drew level for tackles, but Herrera excelled when it came to interceptions, blocks and clearances, besting Ozil 6:1, 3:1 and 2:1 on both stats respectively.
Again, it’s the defensive stats that came back to haunt Ozil and we can definitely see a pattern beginning to form.
OZIL VS DE BRUYNE
Straight off the bat we can see that Ozil was second to De Bruyne almost everywhere apart from his passing stats.
The pair were fairly level when it came to the defensive side of things, but it’s fair to say that it wasn’t a good afternoon for the German.
But like Hazard earlier in the season, be put down to a bad day at the office, but unlike Hazard, he put in another poor performance in the very next game against Everton.
So while he could definitely be more effective, these stats should show that he has been playing nowhere near as badly as certain sections of the Arsenal support have been making out.