Stats Reveal How Mesut Ozil Is Being Let Down by Arsenal Teammates This Season

Arsenal maestro Mesut Ozil may have a reputation as one of the laziest players in the Premier League, an individual totally disinterested when his team is not in possession and someone who has a habit of going missing when the pressure is turned on.

But the German's understated impact this season should perhaps have been far greater than it actually is, and for that he has wasteful team-mates to thank.

Ozil has managed a joint Premier League high of 30 chances created in 2017/18, the same as Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne. It is more than De Bruyne's City colleague David Silva (28) and more than Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas (25).

It is worth pointing out that Ozil has played almost 300 fewer minutes than De Bruyne as a result of a knee problem and the subsequent effect on his fitness.

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Alexis Sanchez is the next most creative player at Arsenal after making 18 chances, followed by Granit Xhaka on 12 and Hector Bellerin on 10. Ozil is leading by quite some distance.

Yet Ozil isn't seen to be having a good season. That is perhaps in part because he would need to be playing out his skin to compensate for the contract saga that continues to hang over him, but also because his numbers for goals and assists do not illustrate anything at all remarkable.

Scorer of a single goal himself, for the 30 chances that Ozil has created, he only has two assists. Both of those have come in the last two games and it means that as many as 28 of the chances he has created for others have gone begging. The Gunners have been too wasteful.

Compare that to De Bruyne, who has six assists to his name from 30 chances created. The Belgian's team-mates have obliged in a way that Ozil's colleagues in north London have failed to do. Silva has also registered six assists from slightly fewer chances created, while Fabregas can be equally disappointed in his Chelsea colleagues as Ozil at Arsenal because his 25 creations have yielded only one goal.

If the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Alexandre Lacazette and Danny Welbeck, all of whom feature in the top 20 players for 'big chances missed' this season, had scored even just four more goals between them for Ozil's assists to match De Bruyne's, Arsenal's season might have looked a little different at this moment in time.