Mesut Ozil played excellently in last weekend's match, which ended with London's Arsenal defeating Crystal Palace. In order to finally fulfill the hopes placed on him, the German must play every match like this, Goal.com's Greg Stobart wrote.
Two years after the record-breaking club purchase arrived in London, Arsene Wenger raised the bar for him.
Ozil was told to score not only more goals (at least 10), but Wenger believes that the attacking midfielder, who cost £42.5 million, is capable of becoming the best player of the Premier League season.
"I am convinced that in 2015-16 he can be one of the best players," the manager said. "He can become the player of the year."
It seems that Ozil's performance in the aforementioned weekend match has now given more weight to Wenger's words than initially appeared.
The 26-year-old player played as a true virtuoso in the number 10 position, controlling the game with his delicate touches on the ball and light passes that bypassed the entire defense.
He finished the match by delivering a superb assist to Olivier Giroud from a corner kick, creating five more dangerous opportunities and successfully completing 54 out of 55 passes.
It was exactly the kind of performance that Arsenal fans had hoped for from Ozil since his arrival. When in top form, he can control the game for 90 minutes and dismantle opponents with just one pass.
Wenger and Jose Mourinho are each other's critics, but Ozil is the rare case where their opinions do not differ. The London Chelsea coach worked with the German in Real Madrid.
"Stopping him for 90 minutes is impossible," Mourinho once said. "Players like him always show a few times why they are so good."
Wenger hopes that Ozil will shine this season because he spent the entire preparation phase in North London for the first time. In 2013, he arrived on the last day of the transfer window, and last year he returned tired from the World Cup and suffered an injury for four months.
There can be no more excuses. Ozil must step up, become Arsenal's key player, and take the game into his own hands every week, especially considering that Alexis Sanchez has not fully recovered after the Copa America.
Criticism of Ozil since he moved to the new club has been directed at his inconsistency. After high-level performances in other matches, he was often unnoticed too often. In the first match of the season, which Arsenal lost to West Ham, he was almost invisible.
When the North London team faces Liverpool on Monday, Ozil will have the opportunity to bring consistency to his game and silence the critics who claim he disappears in important matches.
In those moments, his relaxation and reluctance to work in defense can be understood as him putting in too little effort. Although Arsenal may boast about the statistics showing that Ozil runs a lot during matches, to the viewer, he appears lethargic and disinterested.
However, Wenger believes that the sharp criticism of Ozil has softened. Fans and experts recognize the magic he can use to determine the outcome of a match with just one pass, and Arsenal is trying to keep up the pace so their ball magician can easily find his teammates.
So far, Ozil has scored only 12 goals in 75 matches, so Wenger told him to take the initiative more often.
"I want more goals from him because he plays in a demanding position and is a good finisher of attacks," Wenger said. "On the other hand, he tries to create too few opportunities. He understands this himself and wants to step up now, so I trust him. Although his main weapon will always be the brilliance and creativity of his passes, he can finish attacks better, and we want 10 goals from him this season."
If he can add consistency and accurate shots to the incredible natural talent he showed against Crystal Palace, there is no reason why Ozil cannot compete for the country's best player award at the end of the season.
