Mesut Ozil collected two assists against CSKA Moscow, probably should have had at least five and strutted around the Ashburton Grove pitch with a swagger his talent deserves, so of course the first thing you will want to do when talking about him is tell everybody he is a flattrack bully, right?
That’s what the Telegraph’s Jason Burt decided he had to do as he wrote his match report, stating, “With their season on the line, Arsenal delivered with Mesut Ozil the magnificent orchestrator although before anyone should get too carried away there was, as ever, that nagging doubt that the playmaker only really comes alive against modest opposition; that he is a footballing equivalent of a flattrack bully. Still Ozil took wonderful advantage of the space afforded to him.”
Daily Telegraph 6 April 2018
![Mesut Ozil criticised by major paper after CSKA performance for crazy reason that doesn't hold up 2 daily telegraph 6 april 2018 match report closeup](/static/uploads/2018/04/daily-telegraph-6-april-2018-match-report-closeup.png)
The loudest chant of the evening was for Mesut Ozil as the fans sang his song.
In the crowd, there was no nagging doubt about Mesut Ozil. There rarely has been since he arrived at the club from Real Madrid 2013.
It is only in the papers we are told about this persistent doubt and it is the papers who do the most to keep it going.
Is Ozil a flat-track bully?
Mesut Ozil certainly shines against so-called lesser teams and that’s no surprise. Ronaldo against Barcelona is not quite the same as Ronaldo against Levante.
But what is Ozil’s record like against the bigger teams?