Mesut Ozil Can Win Ballon d'Or, Declares Arsenal Boss Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has claimed Mesut Ozil has what it takes to be named the best player in world football.

The French manager, who continues to heap praise on his recent signing, suggests Ozil possesses enough quality to oust Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo from their tussle for the Ballon d’Or, as reported by Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail:

"

Ozil is not one of the favourites this year, but in the future he can win it.

What he has brought to the team is exceptional technical quality. His vision and his desire to play collectively with other players is very strong. He is a player who has only one master and that is the football.

He does what the game demands and that is something that all the great players have.

"

Wenger’s compliments underline a fantastic settling-in period for Ozil, who was named on the Ballon d'Or shortlist for 2013, per Sky Sports.

The German midfielder recently told Bild he is loving England and finds Emirates life to be a real treat, as reported by ESPN.co.uk:

"Frankly. Everything at Arsenal is great fun," Ozil said. "The manager, the teammates, London life - I feel really great there."

The 25-year-old’s excellent start to his Arsenal career has helped the Gunners consolidate a spot at the top of the Premier League. Ozil has scored three goals and provided five assists in 10 games, per WhoScored.com, considerably adding to the squad’s creative reserves.

While Wenger’s comments are a tad premature, his suggestion that Ozil could compete for the sport's top individual prize certainly highlights a manager who is thrilled with his £42.5 million signing.

Ozil’s club-record transfer is looking like an excellent piece of business, one that will strengthen the Gunners’ claim to silverware across the next few years.

Alongside the emergence of Aaron Ramsey, the former Real Madrid player’s run of form has been a real feature of the North London club’s early-season success.

Whether or not he can challenge Messi and Ronaldo remains to be seen. These are prolific players, individuals who enjoy an out-and-out attacking style, ensuring their insane number of goals is always likely to overshadow those who lay chances on.

Perhaps, Ozil can highlight Wenger’s comments during Arsenal’s upcoming Champions League tie with Borussia Dortmund.

Should the classy German help sink Jurgen Klopp’s side on their own turf, Wenger’s bold claims may begin to reverberate around Europe.

For now, Ozil must become a more consistent influence, either by emulating the match-winning efforts of Messi and Ronaldo or by dominating football matches in the style of Zinedine Zidane, to whom he was recently compared by Wenger, per Dave Filmer of Metro.

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