It's not really a worthwhile comparison. Yeah, Özil in the last generation's tactical landscape reached heights that Ødegaard is nowhere near, that's true. What's also true is that Özil in his prime doesn't really have a place in this side or almost any top side. But again, anachronistic comparisons...I don't know why we can't just be happy that we landed a very high quality modern 8 / 10 for relatively little, and that he's a big part of our success.
Tbf, many of the people who are big supporters of Øde like to compare him to Özil, so that might be why. In any case, they are very different in my view so I wouldn't mind the comparison dying. Not saying they are the same but I think players like Pedri, Messi, Iniesta are more relevant as I think there's more overlap in terms of the spaces in which they do their damage
Özil had more vision and greater quality of final ball but in terms of positioning (which is Øde's strongest trait imo) they do totally different things and our tactical set up is totally different. I just don't find the comparison very helpful. Øde really is an elite presser too which is reliant on the structure around him
I mean, I can see some similarities. What I mean though is that Özil was obviously like the best of the last generation of a type of player that is now dead at the top level. More interesting to compare him to the best of his contemporaries, IMO, as I've done above, or as you're doing with Pedri.
What do you think the similarities are? They are both left footed, and good at finding unexpected timings. But if you forget the footedness and just place them within the wider context of creative players, I find them quite far away from each other. Özil floated all over the pitch, liked to hit the ball with different parts of his foot to Øde (basically never used his laces) and rarely leveraged that angle where you take touches in field form the the opposite wing or half space to your footedness to open up angles (which is where Øde does a lot of his work). He didn't really contribute tempo control or control like Øde either, looked for the killer pass much faster.
Its more of a future comparison rather than rn. its about the player that Ødegaard could become in the future. He's nowhere near Özil currently. I was just saying that Özil hit his prime very early and in terms of his Arsenal career had 2 stunning seasons and a few good ones. Ødegaard won't get to the playing abilities of Özil but he can still go on to have a better Arsenal career in my opinion with how the future is shaping up.
Similarities: spaces they like to pick up (between lines of course, especially in the inside right channel), dribbling style (fake pass / shot and continue cutting over onto left), impressive weight of final pass.*
I agree. I am sure Ødegaard can see the strengths of Özil and aspire to improve his game in certain areas ( final ball, spacing, cleverness), but he no slouch in these areas. In addition, he is strong in different areas such as pressing and tight spaces. Different players in my opinion.
Yeah, I don't think Özil would mind playing with someone who runs all day for his team and is technically sound at the same time
