Stats Reveal Just How Creative Mesut Ozil Has Been as Arsenal Prepare to Announce New Deal

Arsenal play-maker Mesut Ozil has statistically been the most creative player in Europe's top five leagues since he made his league debut with Schalke in 2006, Opta can reveal.

The Gunners are on the verge of announcing a bumper new deal for Ozil when it had looked for months as though he could was inching towards a free transfer away from the club.

But fans will be breathing a huge sigh of relief that he is set to sign on for three more seasons until 2021, especially given just how important the number show him to be.

Since taking his first Bundesliga steps in a game against Eintracht Frankfurt at the age of 17, Ozil has gone on to create 1,006 goalscoring chances. He is the only player in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 during that time to have gone over 1,000.

His very first assist came later in that debut season in his first ever league start, setting up Halil Altintop as Schlalke drew 1-1 with Hannover.

From Schalke, Ozil moved on to Werder Bremen in January 2008, eventually catching the eye of Real Madrid after starring at the 2010 World Cup and securing a move to Spain that summer.

He played 157 games in just three seasons with Real, but continued his tour of Europe's top five league when he joined Arsenal for a club record £42.5m fee in the summer of 2013.