Arsene Wenger says Mesut Ozil’s hunger to play again must be “absolutely enormous” on the back of his struggles at Arsenal, with a player who remains leader of the “orchestra” being tipped to thrive at Fenerbahce.
A deal that will see a World Cup-winning midfielder link up with the club he supported as a boy is close to being completed.
Ozil is in Turkey ahead of his proposed switch, with the 32-year-old eager to get going again after being frozen out of Mikel Arteta’s plans at Emirates Stadium.
Wenger, the man who took an enigmatic talent to north London in 2013, has been left surprised by the difficulties endured by a proven match-winner at a Premier League heavyweight.
He has never doubted the qualities of a playmaker that he handed a prominent role and lucrative contract to, with a change of scenery and fresh start expected to serve Ozil well as he seeks to get a faltering career back on track.
“I'm sure that he's frustrated at not having played. His hunger must be absolutely [enormous] to play football again,” Gunners great Wenger told beIN SPORTS.
“Mesut is a guy who needs a warm environment and I believe he will find that more than anywhere else in Turkey. Overall, he can provide the balls that the strikers need to win football games. If they do that well, they have a good chance of winning the league.
“I will follow that with great attention.”
Wenger added on Ozil, who took in three FA Cup triumphs under his guidance: “Mesut is like if you imagine an orchestra in music. He's a guy who plays the ball at the right time.
“The timing of his pass is exceptional, but the creativity of his pass is as well. In every situation he confronts, he gives the right answer and that is genius.
“I must say he can provide the assists, the key pass. I remember he was the first one, the quickest one to break the number of assists in the Premier League. In 2015-16 he had 19 assists in the league. That is absolutely amazing.
“If the moment is right around him, the timing of the pass will be perfect and the quality of the pass will be perfect. He's the kind of player strikers love, always.”
Wenger believes it will not take long for Ozil to hit his stride with Fener, despite his last competitive appearance for Arsenal coming back in March 2020.
He added on a divisive character: “There are two things that are very important in the quality of your performance. First of all your basic fitness, you can get your basic fitness if you work well in training and if you practice well.
“Personally, at the moment I don't know what kind of shape he's in. The second part is competitive fitness and that is linked with the number of games you play. On that front, he has a handicap.
“If his basic fitness in training is good, it will only take him three or four games to be at his best.
“The quality that he has is… vision in depth. He sees quickly, he decides quickly and he realises quickly what he sees. That is a quality you don't find too often in our game.”