It took Mesut Ozil just 11 minutes to make his first major contribution at Arsenal.
Our No 11 made his debut against Tuesday’s opponents Sunderland, at Stadium of Light in 2013, and almost instantly claimed his first assist as he squared for Olivier Giroud to sweep home.
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“I just remember how nice the feeling was to finally make my debut, playing for a new club with new team-mates,” Ozil told the matchday programme. “It took almost two weeks for me to play my first game because of the international break, so I was really looking forward to it. To give an assist so soon early on was a nice moment too.
“I just remember looking forward to the new challenge, to testing myself in a new league. When I was on the pitch, I could sense that I would have fun here and that I could help the team to be successful.”
Ozil started that match in the No 10 position but has recently moved closer to the right flank as a result of our change in system.
“I might not quite have the same freedom that I had as when I played in the No 10,” he added. “When you’re there, you have the freedom to go everywhere.
“In this new system, I need to be on the right a bit more, but that’s something you do for the team. It’s not important what the individual player wants, all that counts is the team.
“The coach sees me there at the moment and the main thing for me is that I’m on the pitch and can help the team with my performances.”
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