Mesut Ozil stars without scoring any goal as Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0

Arsenal defeated Manchester United 2-0 in their Premier League on New Year's Day on Wednesday at the Emirates. This victory was a much-needed one for Arsenal’s recently appointed manager Mikel Arteta. However, the match was also significant for one of the major stars of the Premier League, Mesut Ozil.

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Mesut Ozil covered a total of 11.53 km against Manchester United

Arteta had indicated his intentions ahead of the game when he decided to start Nicolas Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil together for the first time. The match belonged to the German midfielder, who impressed everyone with his performance. Ozil had a lot of work to do and ground to cover as well, which was visible as he covered a total distance of 11.53 km against United, which was the most by any Arsenal player throughout the match.

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Mesut Ozil made the most recoveries against Manchester United

Mesut Ozil was active throughout the game with the player registering the most number of possessions, a total of 10 times, which was again more than any other player among Arteta’s men. Recently, another stat had revealed Ozil’s playmaking abilities. According to Opta, Ozil created more chances than the likes of Lionel Messi (789) and Cristiano Ronaldo in the previous decade. Dimitri Payet had created the most chances (974) in the top five leagues across Europe in a span of 10 years. The French international is followed by Mesut Ozil, who created a total of 916 chances. 

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Arsenal will next play against Leeds United in the FA Cup

Arsenal defeated Manchester United at the Emirates in the Premier League clash on January 1, 2020. The home side's forward Nicolas Pepe opened the scoring for Mikel Arteta’s side in the 8th minute of the game after a brilliant effort from Sead Kolasinac. Sokratis Papastathopoulos doubled the team’s lead few minutes before the first half through a corner from Pepe, which was flicked by Alexandre Lacazette, with David de Gea hitting it away from the net. However, the ball reached Sokratis who fired it quickly into the net. Arsenal are placed 10th in the Premier League after their victory against Manchester United. They will next play against Leeds United on January 6, 2020 (January 7 according to IST) in the FA Cup.

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