When Arsenal have the ball, Ozil is far better than Ramsey in that role. The German midfielder has an eye for numerous aspects of the game that are far superior to Ramsey’s.
Firstly, nobody exploits space as well as Ozil does. He drifts into the middle of the pitch, between lines, and that allows him to get the better of teams that employ man-marking schemes to nullify his effect on the game. Secondly, Ozil’s chance creation is second to none in the squad.
On the other hand, Ramsey is a player whose vertical movements are more crucial to the team. He is a better goalscorer and a valuable player to have in the final third. He is more adept at receiving the final pass to take a shot rather than making the final pass.
In the three games that he has played this season, Ozil has looked out of sorts when played on the right. It has had a cascading effect with Hector Bellerin also struggling to make an impact. The Spanish right-back has flourished when Henrikh Mkhitaryan plays on the right but looks isolated when Ozil takes his place.
The Cardiff City game was a perfect example of Ozil’s strengths and weaknesses. In the first half, he played on the right and seemed to get in his teammates’ way when he tried to drift inside. As a result, both he and Ramsey kept getting into the same zones.
But in the second half, things took a different turn when Ozil started moving to the centre and then to the left – his most preferred positions (it was similar to the role he played for Germany when they were at their peak).
His presence in the centre of the park immediately helped Arsenal unlock Cardiff’s defence as he found space and immediately found Lacazette, whose flick was curled in by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
With two strikers working in tandem, Ozil is the ideal player to have in the centre rather than out wide where his impact is limited because his movements and passing are a bit more predictable.
