Mesut Ozil Would Be a Perfect Fit Under Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich

In the summer of 2010, the history of football was forever changed when Mesut Ozil left Werder Bremen for Real Madrid. Then 21 years of age, the playmaker had become a world superstar following his brilliant performances for Germany at the World Cup. It was a dream move for the player and a great opportunity for him to take the next step in his career. But it wasn't perfect. For this very specific player, there was an even better fit than Los Blancos: Barcelona, under Pep Guardiola.

At the time, Guardiola's Barca weren't only the best team in the world, they became synonymous with tactical ingenuity. They didn't just win, they won in ways that captured imaginations. The club had just about everything one could ask for. But if there's one player who could have taken them to even greater heights, it was Ozil. Barca had creative passers in most positions, but lacked an out-and-out No. 10. And their best creator, Lionel Messi, was also their best finisher. In the 2010-11 campaign, Messi was converted to a "false nine," which brought him individually to new heights but also made the club unhealthily reliant upon him, a mistake that only now is being corrected with him playing deeper and forming a more balanced attack with Neymar.

At Real, Ozil developed and gave assist after assist; his targets to pass to were many and prolific. At the same time, the physically demanding style Jose Mourinho required at Real never suited the lanky and sleight playmaker. When Real shelled out some €124 million to sign Gareth Bale and Isco, it was clear his time at Real was over.

Now at Arsenal, Ozil is yet to fully find his feet in his second season. He is perpetually criticized for his nonchalant playing style and in fairness, he hasn't delivered the final ball nearly as regularly as he did in Spain. Perhaps this has something to do with him having less prolific scorers around him. Perhaps it's related to the club's perpetual struggles with injuries. Or perhaps Ozil is actually no longer the player he once was.

Regardless, the possibility of Ozil joining forces with Guardiola is once again something of which football fans can dream, at least according to a recent report in the Daily Mail. Although the now-injured player later expressed his desire to return to action at the Emirates via Twitter he curiously did so whilst using a hashtag (#MiaSanArsenal) written in the Bavarian dialect, a modification of a classic phrase ("mia san mia," or "we are who we are") meant to express regional pride. He is reportedly keen to pursue a transfer as soon as January, with Bayern allegedly prepared to offer £30 million for his services.

The report may be bunk and in any case, a transfer may never happen. But just as in 2010, teaming up with Ozil would be hugely beneficial to Guardiola. And it would be just what the player needs to revive his career now that so many doubt his commitment and class.

Ozil's abilities are very specific and limit him as a player; they are not universally applicable to any team. At Bayern, he'd have the right environment. There would be fast, strong runners who can finish in the form of Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski, the kind of players he had to feed at Real and would have had at Arsenal until now if Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were more often fit.

At Bayern, Ozil would have an entire team of players capable of maintaining possession in the final third, the area where he is most capable of asserting himself. Mourinho's Real relied on the counterattack and Arsenal, although more skilled than many English teams in possession, don't have the ability to pin back teams the way Bayern can and often do.

A problem Guardiola has faced at Bayern is an inability to play his brand of football successfully. The trainer has said this numerous times, most recently in August (per Goal.com). The problem is that when Bayern set up camp outside their attacking penalty area, they struggle to find a way through and make it all too easy for their opponents to stay organized in defense and hit them on the counterattack. The club's best creator, Franck Ribery, is able to beat players one-on-one in wide areas, but his skills are not best suited for the center, at the edge of the box. Mario Gotze can play in such a role, but to date he's yet to provide the same kind of creativity Ozil can; this season he's scored about twice as many goals as he's assisted.

Ribery and Gotze are the most technically skilled passers in the Bayern team and indeed the most creative. But in terms of having the touch and quickness of feet and mind to keep the ball in a crowded area at the edge of the box, as well as the imagination and skill to play a killer final pass, no Bayern player can compare to Ozil. A true street footballer who began to practice his craft on playgrounds in Gelsenkirchen, the Schalke academy graduate is the kind of player who can stand in the attacking area and probe opposing defenses like a chess player, especially with creative scorers like Gotze and Muller in his vicinity.

There are downsides to Ozil's game, of course, and they are numerous and significant. He rarely scores, lacks physical strength and is a defensive liability. He usually needs at least one other player of exceptional technique to play with. But he would have the right combination of talents around him at Bayern. And if his addition would finally allow Guardiola to play the style of football he loves and desires to regular, maximal effectiveness, perhaps Ozil's weaknesses would be acceptable.

Still just 26 years of age, Ozil has a lot of great football left in him; in theory, his best years are yet to come. There may be nothing in the rumor linking him to Bayern, but football purists at least now have something to dream about, the long-awaited teaming up of Guardiola and Ozil. The £30 million could hardly be better spent.

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