Mesut Ozil: Legend or wasted potential?

Mesut Ozil looks set to leave Arsenal in January with a move to Fenerbahce on the cards. Does the German playmaker go down as one of Arsenal's greats though?

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal celebrates after he scores his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Leicester City at Emirates Stadium on October 22, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

By Toby Hill8 January 2021 18:07 BST

Mesut Ozil's Arsenal career will be one that is remembered for the highs, but also for the many lows.

His deadline day signing was absolute madness and he helped the Gunners to end their trophy drought by winning the FA Cup. Ozil will leave Arsenal after 254 appearances, 44 goals and 77 assists.

Some Arsenal fans believe that Ozil is underappreciated by many and that he deserves a better send-off. His legacy once he leaves north London is being questioned, will it be wasted potential or Arsenal great?

Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour believes that Ozil will not go down as an legend of the Emirates era, in an interview with talkSPORT he said: "He (Ozil) is a very talented player, but the consistency wasn’t there for him.

Quotes from a Highbury legend

“If you go back to some of the opportunities where he’s playing in big games and you need to shine as a leader and he didn’t. He sort of went missing in games.

“But statue? They’ve got the right three at the moment, absolutely. There’s [Thierry] Henry, [Dennis] Bergkamp and Tony Adams.

“The next statue that goes up at Arsenal should be Arsene Wenger. That’s the next statue.

“I wouldn’t look at any players at the moment who deserve a statue.

“I’d go back to probably [Cesc] Fabregas was a better player [than Ozil] with what he achieved at Arsenal. Then you look at [Aaron] Ramsey before he left, he wanted to stay, but they couldn’t agree a deal.

“You look at what he (Ozil) has achieved in his career and I can see why people say he’s a legend. He’s won a World Cup," Parlour stated.

“At times in games he was absolutely brilliant, but he didn’t do it on a consistent basis. That was his problem.

“You’ve got to do it week in, week out if you’re going to be a top, top player. Look at [Kevin] De Bruyne, does he ever have a bad game? If he has a quiet game, he still does something in that game to probably assist a player or maybe score a goal.

“At times when Ozil played, if he had a quiet game you didn’t see him. That was the difference between two top, top, class players.

“I will put him in the bracket of being top class who can make a difference in a game; Henry and Bergkamp could make a difference on their own in a game and Ozil didn’t do it enough."