One touch to the left, a little jinx, the smallest gap and a rocket into the near top corner. Martin Odegaard's goal to round off another brilliant day for Arsenal was fitting for the occasion. The captain in on the act, all smiles here. On to Stamford Bridge we go.
A left-footed, creative, ball-playing, space-finding assist-making integral No.10 in a 4-2-3-1, this is something out of Arsene Wenger's greatest hits playbook. In his final days at Arsenal, it was a mirror to the past that he couldn't conjure up.
It was part of a development that saw the Gunners move away from powerful midfield patrollers Patrick Vieira and Emanuel Petit towards intricate and delicate beauty players. Not in a bad way, but players that epitomised the 'they have to walk it in attitude.'
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That's how Arsenal became known. Gorgeous football, good enough to compete but not quite to succeed at the elite end. It drew out the frustration in fans and eventually resulted in Wenger's position being untenable. Things have changed, and the neat little flicks are part of the wider movement with soldiers at the back. Thomas Partey is a rock, and Granit Xhaka is actually good. That's a foundation to build from. Then Odegaard is allowed to do what he does. Gabriel Jesus doesn't even have to score, and Mikel Arteta's side can dominate.
Odegaard's goal was everything Mesut Ozil should have been able to do. He had the touches, the passes, the deftness, the skill, but his peak in London felt a long way from Odegaard taking the game by the scruff of the neck - albeit 4-0 up.
Ozil was a star, an international tournament winner. He was the world-class player to take Arsenal to a new plane. The one just above where they were. Top four, no more. Time to go for a title hunt. Speaking about the move of Ozil, his agent Erkut Sogut explained, "After winning the World Cup in 2014, we looked into ways of capitalising on the fact that Mesut Özil was now a World Cup champion as well as the number 10 at Real Madrid."
Ozil was 24 and one of the best midfielders in the world at the time. His big-money move to the Emirates was huge for Wenger, but things went downhill quickly, and the German became a scapegoat for going missing in big games. His ghosting that is good when he picks the ball up in space became negative when the pass never came, and the space was open forever, a No. 10 shaped shadow in the middle.
In a stark demonstration of the Ozil drop-off, Sogut told TribalFootball, "The M10-brand is licensed in seven different countries, and Özil makes more off than on the pitch these days."
After 16 assists in his first two years, Ozil hit 19 in one campaign as Arsenal challenged for the title truly. He then hit 19 across the next two years but fell away after Wenger left. He registered just two assists in each of his last two league seasons and wasn't missed after leaving. Now Odegaard is playing in the attacking midfield role, and it is the closest Arsenal have come to truly replacing the initial Ozil talent.
Regardless of the way he left, Sogut aimed a subtle jibe at Pierre-Emerick Aubemayang - who joined Chelsea over the summer, less than seven months after leaving Arsenal to go to Barcelona. The Gabon forward is expected to play against his former side for the first time next week as the teams meet at Stamford Bridge.
"He [Ozil] could never play for another English club. He's not like (Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang," Sogut added. "He loved his time at Arsenal and is still in contact with a lot of players, not least (Bukyo) Saka. They have a special relationship."
Ozil left the club in 2021 and never truly made an impact on Arteta. He played alongside Aubameyang before being allowed to leave for free last year. It was part of the squad overhaul that has welcomed in young players and a new spirit at the club.
Aubameyang, who felt the onus of Arteta's big decisions later that year, criticised his former manager soon after leaving, saying, "To manage big characters and big players, he [Arteta] can't deal with it." He was then asked if Arteta had good people skills, to which he responded: "Some young players don't say anything. They just listen."
In the video that Aubameyang was part of, it was also pointed out that Ozil had fallen out with Arteta, and Aubameyang agreed.
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