Mesut Ozil finally made his much anticipated debut for Arsenal following his high profile switch from Real Madrid on Transfer Deadline Day. He was thrust into the starting 11 following the last minute withdrawal of Santi Carozla due to injury.

There were initial fears that Ozil’s debut could be pushed back as the midfielder was reportedly feeling ill prior to the game. Those rumors were put to bed as his name was featured on the team-sheet, despite his illness. He took just over 11 minutes to mark his arrival in the English Premier League as he bagged his first assist – laying out the ball for striker Olivier Giroud to slot home easily to give Arsenal the early lead against Sunderland.

He further influenced the game in the first half as he was the nucleus of Arsenal’s midfield, dictating play with such efficiency. He combined effortlessly with Jack Wilshere and created a host of chances for the Gunners. If it was not for Theo Walcott’s off day in front of goal, Arsenal would have been out of sight in the first half an hour.

He lasted 60 minutes before Wenger decided to take him off and let him recover fully from the illness. He spoke post the 3-1 victory where Metro report that he was all praises for his £42.5 million acquisition. Wenger said, “He was absolutely outstanding,”

“In the second half he was lacking a bit physically, but considering he has been ill this week, he was very good.”

After Giroud got the opening goal, a Craig Gardner penalty got Sunderland on level terms. However, it was another in-form player, Aaron Ramsey who scored a quickfire brace to all but end any doubts about the result.

He went on to describe the game in entirety which once again showcased Arsenal’s new found attitude of absorbing pressure and eventually emerging victorious. Wenger continued, “It was a very interesting match,”

“There were lots of good chances early on, and we could have won the game by half-time. We dropped physically in the second half, but we found a bit more and then took our chances.”

Do you see Ozil maintaining this fine start to his Arsenal career?