Why 2015/16 Is a Crucial Season for Mesut Ozil at Arsenal

2015/16 already feels like a critical season for Arsenal. After two consecutive FA Cup winning-campaigns, they need to mount a serious challenge for the two major trophies on the table: the Premier League and the Champions League. If they are to do that, the performances of Mesut Ozil will be absolutely crucial. It’s time for Arsenal’s record signing to deliver.

Ozil is undoubtedly playing the best football of his Arsenal career right now. His first 18 months were laced with difficulty—it was impossible to escape the suspicion that he had been forced out of Real Madrid against his will. When you leave the biggest club in the world, it’s inevitable that your next club will feel like something of a step down, and that sense of disillusionment seemed to creep into Ozil’s performances on the pitch. 

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

However, Ozil’s attitude appears to have changed. There is a new drive and determination in him every time he takes to the field. He appears to have accepted and embraced Arsenal. Speaking to Sky Sports before the Premier League clash with Liverpool, Arsene Wenger observed: ”He is completely committed to the club. He is focused on getting results.”

Joseph Nair/Associated Press

The turning point appeared to arrive in January. At the start of the 2014/15 season, Ozil was enduring an unhappy time, struggling to get over his World Cup fatigue and playing out of position on the flanks. His form and his head both dropped, and it seemed as if his spell at Arsenal might be doomed to fizzle out.

Curiously, he was saved by injury. A knee problem took Ozil out of the firing line for 12 weeks. When he returned, he appeared both physically and mentally stronger. A few months in the gym had bulked out his body and stiffened his resolve. Upon his return, he looked like a player transformed, resisting challenges and wreaking havoc in the opposition defence. Within weeks of his comeback, he had seized his preferred No. 10 role for himself. Arsenal began to play to Ozil’s elegant beat.

In a highly competitive squad, his position has become non-negotiable. There are countless candidates for the position behind the striker—the likes of Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and even Alexis Sanchez would all crave a run in that spot. However, Ozil is the man Wenger has chosen to construct his team around.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

That places a big responsibility on his shoulders. The major challenge for Ozil now is to decide big games. Against smaller opposition, he is easily capable of dominating. However, he needs to produce the match-winning moments that will turn Arsenal from nearly men into genuine title challengers. He may never be a regular goalscorer, but Ozil still retains the ability to decide a game with one moment of creative genius. A star of his ilk must begin to perform on the biggest stages.

If Ozil can do that, Arsenal will be that bit closer to lifting a major trophy. When he left Real Madrid, the German international may have feared his days of winning big club competitions were behind him. Judging by the manner in which he’s set about the last six months or so, he is reinvigorated by a belief he can now match those achievements with Arsenal. 

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.