More praise for Arsenal’s £42 million club record signing Mesut Özil from senior footballers who know a thing or two about playing in midfield.

Özil’s Germany midfield partner – and a former teammate at Real Madrid – Sami Khedira and Gunners legend Dennis Bergkamp have both spoken glowingly of the new signing’s talents.  Khedira called Özil a “genius“, with Bergkamp settling for “tremendous“.

Khedira is close to Özil from their time with Madrid and Germany, and Khedira has previously criticised Real for allowing the playmaker to leave for the Emirates. He believes Özil can drive Arsenal on to become the best team in England, saying:

“Arsenal had a strong team anyway, but Mesut makes them the best team in England. I am sure he can be the player that makes things happen for them and win them the championship. Mesut is a genius on the field, there is no other way to describe him.

“Of course, there was some disappointment among the players at Madrid because he is the best in his position in the world. But I understand his decision as a player and also as my friend. He is already playing amazing football for Arsenal and he hasn’t even got used to the Premier League yet.”

“The one who can make a difference”

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Bergkamp also highlighted Arsène Wenger’s recent signing of Özil as a key piece of the jigsaw puzzle:

“I believe he can be very important to the team. He is a tremendous player with a lot of effective skills, like controlling the ball, making creative passes and assists, taking the right position in the field every time. And he’s extremely experienced.

“Putting all that together I think you’ve got a player who can be the missing link in the Arsenal team, a player who will make a striker score goals, who will link up in Arsenal’s position game and who will score goals as well.

“With all the respect to the other Arsenal players, I think he is the one who can make a difference.”

Arsenal fans everywhere will certainly be hoping that the German’s exceptional early form – in which he has controlled some games with panache – will continue for years to come.

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