Oguzhan Ozyakup is to move away from Besiktas and reportedly return to Arsenal, here is what he would bring to the squad.
Oguzhan Ozyakup left Arsenal in the summer of 2012 to join Turkish side Besiktas. The 24-year-old rose through the youth ranks of AZ Alkmaar before he joined Arsenal’s youth setup.
He was part of the generation that gave us Jack Wilshere but Ozyakup was sold out in favour compared to the Englishman for whom the club had great expectations.
By the end of this summer, we could see a change that brings Ozyakup back to Arsenal with Wilshere leaving in order to make room for his Turkish counterpart.
Besiktas appointed Oguzhan Ozyakup, now 24, as their team captain and the player returned the faith put in him by leading the club to two consecutive titles in Turkey Super Lig. He made a total of 40 appearances this season and added five goals and 10 assists to his account.
Weaknesses
Defensive contributions from the player leave much to be desired. Ozyakup is primarily an attacking midfielder and he isn’t used to tracking his players back too far and can often put his defence under pressure. A considerable change of attitude and approach should be made if he wants to become one of the great midfielders in Europe.
A possible reason for his lack of defensive effort and poor tackling could be his physical strength. Even though he isn’t short (180cm) and has decent weight (75kg), he does lack muscle mass.
Aerial duels are directly linked to his lack of physical strength and the player wins less than half of his duels in the air (46.67%).