re: Arsenal 2014/15 Season Long Thread

Monaco were sitting deep and taking away space behind Giroud, so Ozil worked deep and wide to get the ball in space, drawing in defenders and playing the ball into a better space. He had a few giveaways on high risk plays he doesn't normally go for in a few particular areas, but only because the game called for it.

126 touches (game high, 2 key passes (game high), 6 dribbles (game high), two tackles, 11.34 km covered (second on Arsenal only to Santi). To cover that much ground in a game that we had 61% of possession and did very little defending is pretty remarkable for No. 10. He covered more ground that many Monaco players even though they were chasing the ball most of the game.

His pass to Monreal set up the Ramsey goal, and Ozil does that more than any player in the world: play the perfect pass to set up the assist.



We also saw Ozil work really hard throughout the game and win physical challenges. He's been criticized for not doing that enough, even though that's not his game, but he's done it anyway.