Limited to just 22 appearances in an injury-hit 2014/15, Mesut Ozil was priced at 8.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) after managing a mere four goals and six assists. The Arsenal midfielder went into the previous campaign firmly in the shadow of Alexis Sanchez but took his game to a new level, racking up six goals and 19 assists to clinch the final midfield spot in our Team of the Season, with 11% of the votes.
The Statistics
Ozil kicked off the season in steady yet unspectacular fashion, notching three assists in his first six appearances. The former Real Madrid midfielder then embarked on a spectacular run of form between Gameweeks 8 and 17, scoring two goals and bagging 12 assists, averaging 8.9 points per game (ppg) over that stretch. That led to his value peaking at 10.0 by Gameweek 20, though Ozil failed to replicate that form over the rest of the campaign and went on to blank in 13 of his final 19 matches.
The Arsenal playmaker ended the season as the fourth highest scoring player in FPL with 200 points, while he ranked as the second highest scoring midfielder behind Riyad Mahrez (240 points). Ozil led all players for assists, with 19, having only managed a best of 10 in his two previous Premier League seasons, while he created a chance every 21.9 minutes this term, better than any other player in the league.
One of the more surprising aspects regarding Ozil’s output this season was his penchant for racking up double-figure hauls, totalling eight over the course of the campaign. That was helped by an ability to hoover up the bonus points, accruing 30 over the course of the season, ranking him joint-third among all players, bettered only by Mahrez (38) and Harry Kane (33).
The German international’s average of 5.7 ppg was only trumped by Mahrez (6.5) among midfielders, while he ranked joint-fourth for ppg among all players who featured in at least five matches, with team-mate Sanchez just behind on 5.6 ppg.
The Prospects
Having enjoyed his most productive season by far in English football, Ozil looks poised to become one of the highest priced midfield options across the Fantasy games as we head into 2016/17.
A hike to around the 10.0 mark looks likely, though bearing in mind that Sanchez seems set to come in at no more than 11.0 as a result of his relatively disappointing 167-point haul, the German – whose ownership rose over 50% last year – will struggle to remain such a popular pick.
After a dire first few months of the season, Sanchez scored or assisted in eight of his final ten appearances in a new role on the right before being shifted back to the left for the Gameweek 38 win over Villa. If he can continue in the same vein, it’s fair to say that Ozil faces a tough task to oust the Chilean in our Fantasy affections.
Although Ozil remains top dog in terms of creativity, Sanchez’ goal threat is far more convincing. Despite missing eight matches in 2015/16, the former Barcelona man led the way for total attempts (107) and efforts in the box (72) amongst midfielders, producing more than double Ozil’s numbers (47 and 32) in over 600 minutes’ less pitch time.
Whilst Ozil and Sanchez look the only two nailed-on options for Arsene Wenger in the final third, there’s the hope that Alex Iwobi could continue the progress that saw him start eight of the Gunners’ final nine league outings. With Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also vying for pitch time out wide, though, few will be prepared to take an early punt early on.
With less of a price difference between them, Sanchez’ eye for goal may well make him the go-to man at the Emirates next time around. It would be remiss to rule Ozil out altogether but, should a value option emerge, either in the final spot in Arsenal’s attacking midfield slots or up front – depending on Wenger’s ability to find an upgrade for the erratic Olivier Giroud – the German may have to surpass last year’s output to remain prominent in our plans.
