Ozil impresses in Arsenal debut

Mesut Ozil in action for Arsenal against Sunderland (Action Images)

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Arsenal's new midfield signing Mesut Ozil made an immediate impact for the north London side with a strong debut performance against Sunderland on Saturday.

 
The Gunners smashed their own transfer record on deadline day with a deal worth £42.5 million for the former Real Madrid star but made a strong impact for the side in his maiden game.

The 24-year-old, despite not being completely fit, put in a stellar performance and assisted in Olivier Giroud's opening goal in the first half in the 3-1 away win. He also set up three chances for Theo Walcott to find the net which eventually, though, came to nothing. Overall, his passing success rate was 89.2% over 80 minutes, according to stats from Whoscored.com.

There is a very positive feeling around the Emirates about Ozil's future at the club with a source telling SportsDirect News that as long as he can stay fit he will figure strongly in manager Arsene Wenger's plans this season.

Our source said: "Ozil has already proved to be a great signing for the club. He put in a fantastic performance against Sunderland and we are going to be expecting a lot more like that from him and he has the talent to deliver that too."

Wenger singled out the German international for praise in his post-match press conference, telling reporters: "He was like the team. He had an outstanding first half and dropped physically in the second half.

"He was sick on Thursday night and I decided only today to play him this morning. He had a stomach bug and didn't feel well, but he dropped a bit physically in the second half but his first half was outstanding."