Mesut Ozil is “from another planet” according to former Arsenal striker Charlie Nicholas who has lavished praise on the Germany international following his late winner against Ludogorets.
The Gunners had looked to be heading for an embarrassing defeat after going 2-0 down in Bulgaria but rallied to level the scores through Granit Xhaka and Olivier Giroud.
Ozil then produced one of his greatest ever Arsenal goals, flicking the ball past the goalkeeper and leaving two defenders on the floor before slotting home the winner in the 87th minute.
Nicholas was full of admiration for Ozil after the game and urged him to produce the goods again when Arsenal take on Tottenham in the north London derby at the weekend.
“Ozil was just different class.” Nicholas told Sky Sports. “He comes from another planet that no other Arsenal player has found yet.
“He’s got loads of good talent and loads of good movement. Ozil was absolutely wonderful. They are at Spurs at the weekend and then after the international break away at Old Trafford.
“These are must-win games where big-time players need to turn up for the big events.”
Arsenal’s win means they have qualified for the knockout stages but still face a battle with PSG for top spot and Nicholas feels the team are improved from seasons past.
“Overall, it is a team that, a year ago, would have felt sorry for themselves and felt it was not our night tonight,” he added.
“They got knocked back against Sunderland and more than deserved to win. To go 1-1 there and two down tonight, that’s a big change to what has happened at Arsenal.”
Ozil’s quality has never been in doubt and his goal simply highlighted what a superb player Arsenal have, here’s hoping his current form continues against Spurs on Sunday.