HE MAY be known as The Professor, but Arsene Wenger's latest masterplan is hardly rocket science.
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| Per Mertesacker wants Arsenal to give fellow German Mesut Ozil as much of the ball as possible |
Defender Per Mertesacker has revealed the simple tactic that has fired the Gunners' title challenge: give the ball to Mesut Ozil as often as possible and see what happens.
As Monday night's 2-1 win over title rivals Manchester City showed, the ploy is working like a dream.
The German playmaker is in the form of his life. His 14th and 15th assists of the season provided first-half goals for Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud as Arsenal registered a hugely significant victory at a crucial stage of the season.
Ozil's path at Arsenal has not always been a smooth one since his £42.5million move from Real Madrid in 2013. Too often he infuriated fans by disappearing from games, struggling to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League.
But a new diet and gym routine has toughened up the 27-year-old and, now more settled in London, Ozil is beginning to blossom.
"Mesut is vital for us, especially when we play deep as we are doing now," said Mertesacker.
"We want to get him the ball in the final third of the pitch - that is what we are trying to do every single time.
"He is the main threat. He gives a good pass at the right moment and he can see the difference, so we try and find him.
"That is the solution for us, to expose the opposition's back four. Mesut is really dangerous when he gets into that pocket and plays the ball behind.
"It has not been easy for him with us playing deeper lately, but he has worked hard, even defensively."
Ozil's assists tally is more than double his nearest Premier League rivals, Leicester's Riyad Mahrez and Everton's Gerard Deulofeu, who have seven each.
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| Ozil has hit his best form this season as Arsenal look genuine contenders for the Premier League |
It is more than Steven Gerrard, Juan Mata or Dennis Bergkamp recorded in a single campaign. With six more assists in Arsenal's remaining 21 fixtures, Ozil will break Thierry Henry's Premier League record of 20 in a season.
Arsenal manager Wenger said: "Mesut is much more mature than he was 18 months ago, much more keen to take responsibility.
"He has developed his physical attributes, his physical commitment, and you see a desire to win - you see he plays to win the game. Maybe this kind of talent is exceptional and he realises he can help us in every single game."
Mertesacker knows he and his team-mates must prove that their title credentials are genuine by not slipping up against the "lesser" Premier League teams - as they have done so often in the past - if they want to claim their first championship since 2004.
Wenger's team have winnable holiday games against Southampton, on Boxing Day, Bournemouth and Newcastle.
Only two points behind leaders Leicester, they have a golden chance to overhaul Claudio Ranieri's team. But they have to make sure the errors that have led to dropped points against West Ham, West Brom and Norwich are not repeated.
Mertesacker said: "We are not saying these are going to be easy games - that is not our approach, or how we see the season. It is going to be difficult and we need to stay concentrated.
"The Christmas period is the most important now, and it is up to us to keep that consistency.
"We are delighted with the win. We had to dig in [on Monday], especially in the last 20 or 30 minutes because we didn't score the third. At the end it was a bit hectic, but we went over the line.
"But we haven't proved anything yet and we haven't been so consistent that we can talk about anything.
"We go game by game. We concentrate on having a game plan and trying to implement it. That has been our strength so far against the big teams and it makes us stronger as a unit.
"We face the next challenge on Boxing Day and this is obviously a very busy time. But we have shown strength, and the depth of the squad is vital at the minute."
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