Ozil's pass completion rate was key to Arsenal win over Napoli

Arsenal came flying out of the traps and scored the
opening goal after just 8 minutes as new record
signing Mesut Ozil opened his account with Gunners,
finding the back of the net for the first time since his
arrival this summer.
The German maestro, playing much of the game on
the right flank, also provided the assist for the
second goal, tapped in by Olivier Giroud after quarter
of an hour. The Italian side were completely outdone
and Arsenal played out the second half in cruise-
control mode to take all three points and top the
group.
Arsenal's retention of the ball throughout the game
was nothing short of breath-taking – the ease and
confidence with which the Gunners moved the ball
playing short passes, long passes, moving the ball
with 'technical pace' as manager Arsene Wenger said
after the game, had Napoli chasing shadows and
losing spirit right from the first whistle.
I have not seen Arsenal perform with that level of
confidence, technique and artistry since the days of
Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. They looked better
than they did in Munich at the Allianz last term when
they went out as underdogs to beat Bayern Munich
2-0 in the own backyard.
Ozil's power over the game and subsequent impact
on it is obvious in the score line – a goal and an assist
– but it doesn't tell the whole story. He'll get all the
plaudits for his work in and around the goal but his
power was felt all over the pitch.
As a team, Arsenal completed 89 per cent of their
passes over the 90 minutes – Ozil completed 91 per
cent of his overall. Arsenal completed 78 per cent of
their passes in the final third – Ozil completed 88.5
per cent of his.
In the first half which is ultimately where Arsenal
won and Napoli lost control of the game, Arsenal
completed 90 per cent of their passes over the 45
minutes, Ozil completed 95.5 per cent of his. In the
final third in the first half, Arsenal completed 82 per
cent of their passes but Mesut Ozil completed 90 per
cent of his.
As the stats demonstrate quite clearly, he was
superior to every player on the pitch in terms of his
passing, accuracy and impact. Arsenal are a team full
of gifted passers who operate at a high level of
technical quality on the ball but Ozil dwarfs every
other player on the pitch with his numbers, by
comparison.
For a 24-year-old player who has only just arrived
and played a handful of games with his new
teammates to go out in a Champions League game
against the Serie A runners up who beat the
Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund in
their last European game, for a player – any player –
to go out and demolish the opposition with such
precision, fluency and consistency is almost unreal.
It's almost scary to imagine how powerful he will be
after a season with his new club. For the opposition,
it doesn't even bare thinking about unless they want
nightmares.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.