As the dust finally settled on Arsenal’s Deadline Day scoop of Ozil, it was time for him to make his debut for the Gunners yesterday. He was thrust into the starting 11 straight away by manager Arsene Wenger, who was left without a choice following the last minute withdrawal of Santi Cazorla due to sickness.
Ozil took only 11 minutes to announce his arrival at Arsenal as he laid out a tempting ball for in-form Olivier Giroud to strike home. This took the Frenchman’s goal tally to 4 goals in 4 games. Arsenal dominated the opening exchanges of the game with Ozil very much at the center of all action. The 24-year old linked up perfectly with Jack Wilshere. They could have extended their lead early on itself after a number of opportunities fell for Theo Walcott, but the Englishman had an off day in front of goal.
The teams walked out for the second half, and Sunderland finally managed to find their groove in the early stages, and got their equalizer when defender Laurent Koscielny brought down Adam Johnson to give them a penalty which Craig Gardner scored to restore parity. The Sunderland goal however just galvanized Arsenal, who were chasing their third straight league win.
They were rewarded when the man of the hour, Aaron Ramsey scored a quickfire brace to bail Arsenal out. He scored two goals in a matter of 10 minutes to kill Sunderland’s challenge and their hopes of staging a comeback. Ramsey’s first goal was a thunderous volley from outside the box, as the Welshman met Carl Jenkinson’s cross perfectly, leaving goalkeeper Keiren Westwood no chance.
Ramsey’s second was the result of some classic Arsenal play, which involved some exquisite passing coupled with delicate touches. Ozil combined again with Wilshere, who found Giroud whose intricate touch split the Sunderland defense and found Ramsey. Given the form Ramsey is currently in, he just could not have missed the goal, as he coolly tucked the ball between the legs of the despairing Westwood to kill Sunderland off and gift Mesut Ozil a dream start, and a happy journey back home for Arsenal.