Arsene Wenger has praised the "absolutely perfect" timing of Mesut Ozil's passes.
The Germany international helped Arsenal advance to the group stage of the Champions League on Wednesday night, playing 75 minutes in only his second game since returning from a successful World Cup.
Wenger believes that Ozil's influence on games is perhaps under-appreciated and has likened the playmaker to the conductor of an orchestra.
"He’s like a guy who plays the music, the timing of what he does is perfect"
Arsene Wenger on Mesut Ozil
"People are very harsh with Ozil because he’s a player who’s always very easy on his play but when you watch the game again after, the next day, you see what a player he is," the boss said.
"Everything he does is intelligent. The timing of everything he does is absolutely perfect. You never catch him giving the ball too late.
"The number of players you catch giving the ball too late is unbelievable. You never get that with Ozil. The timing, he’s like a guy who plays the music, the timing of what he does is perfect, you don’t get many players like that.
"He is not getting enough praise. He came back as a World Cup winner. He played all seven games [during the tournament] and he played some good games."
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
