Ozil shines, Arsenal comes from behind to beat Leicester

Scorers: Ozil 45', Aubameyang 63', 66' - Bellerin 31' (own goal)

"I will remember tonight for the brilliant performance of Mesut Ozil. What a genius Ozil." That was the comment of former player Chris Sutton, and when a man who scored 150 goals in more than 400 top-flight matches commented like that, Ozil must have done something special. So special that the match can be divided into two periods: before and after Ozil spoke.

The German midfielder returned to his usual No. 10 role after missing the previous round - a win over Fulham. But for much of the first half, it was a disappointment. Ozil could not find a connection with his two equals in the attacking trio, Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. As a result, striker Alexandre Lacazette was almost starved of the ball, and the home team did not create any decent chances in the first 30 minutes. And his teammates were tormented in the back line.

With players as fast as Kelechi Iheanacho and as creative as James Maddison, Leicester started impressively, focusing on the home team's left flank, which was guarded by an aging defender Stephane Lichtsteiner.

It was from this position that Iheanacho created the first significant chance in the third minute, with a run down the penalty area. Had the ball not hit centre-back Rob Holding and gone wide, Arsenal's net might have been up. About three minutes later, it was Iheanacho again with a curling shot from outside the box, forcing goalkeeper Bernd Leno to dive and push it away.

In the first 10 minutes, more than 50% of the ball appeared around Arsenal's penalty area. The speed of Leicester's attack at that time was described as "faster than the Jamaican 4x100m relay team".

To avoid conceding a goal, Holding even had to accept a yellow card after a deliberate foul from a distance. In the 18th minute, he even used his hand to block the ball in the penalty area, but referee Chris Kavanagh seemed to ignore it, to the anger of Leicester coach Claude Puel.

Had it not been for Leno's diving display three minutes later, Harry Maguire could have opened the scoring for the visitors with an unmarked close-range header. But Leicester only had to wait another 10 minutes for what they deserved.

After receiving the ball on the left wing, Ben Chilwell pushed the ball into the penalty area and passed it sideways. After touching Hector Bellerin's foot, the ball changed direction and flew into the near corner, leaving goalkeeper Leno no time to react.

Arsenal's goal came from Lichtsteiner's botched pass to Ozil - who failed to fight back when he lost possession. It was Bellerin's first own goal in 133 Premier League appearances for Arsenal. But it was like a bucket of cold water thrown straight into the sleepy faces of those people.

Ghanit Xhaka took three consecutive set pieces - including a dangerous free-kick that forced goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to dive and push the ball over the bar.

And in the final minute of the first half, Ozil initiated an attack from midfield. After passing the ball to Bellerin on the right wing, he penetrated the penalty area and tapped in with his left foot from a teammate's pass. The ball hit the post before going into the net, leaving goalkeeper Schmeichel in amazement. That was when Ozil's class spoke for itself.

In the second half, except for Ndidi's high header that hit the crossbar in the 60th minute, Arsenal did not have to look back anymore. The withdrawal of Lichtsteiner and Mkhitaryan, to be replaced by Aubameyang and Guendouzi, also clearly showed coach Unai Emery's determination to win all three points.

In the 63rd minute, Ozil showed excellent vision with a pass that eliminated four Leicester players at the same time for Bellerin to run down near the touchline and cross for Aubameyang to tap the ball into the net, making the score 2-1. The match was decided quickly.

In the 66th minute, Arsenal counterattacked quickly, with the highlight being Ozil's backheel pass in the middle of the field. After charging forward, he delicately dropped the ball to enter the penalty area and received a pass from Lacazette. Facing goalkeeper Schmeichel, the midfielder wearing the Arsenal captain's armband did not try to shoot but instead passed to Aubameyang to easily score.

If there was one regret for Arsenal in this match, it was that Lacazette did not score any goals despite having the most shots (4). Lacazette's best chance came in the 78th minute, after a cross from Ozil.

Instead of tapping into the wide open goal, the Arsenal striker shot straight at goalkeeper Schmeichel. Two minutes after this situation, Ozil was taken off to rest, amid the continuous applause of the home crowd.

On what would have been former manager Arsene Wenger's 69th birthday, Ozil and his teammates won their 10th consecutive league game - their first since 2007 - with some beautiful football under new manager Unai. Thanks to that, they continued to be in the Top 4, just two points behind the two leading teams Man City and Liverpool (21 vs 23 points).

Line-up

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Leno, Bellerin, Mustafi, Holding, Lichtsteiner (Aubameyang, 61'), Torreira, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan (Guendouzi, 61'), Ozil (Ramsey, 80'), Iwobi, Lacazette.

Unused subs: Welbeck, Martinez, Medley, Smith-Rowe

Leicester (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel, Amartey, Maguire, Evans, Ricardo (Ghezzal, 69'), Mendy, Ndidi, Chilwell, Maddison (Okazaki, 75'), Iheanacho (Albrighton, 61'), Vardy.

Unused subs: Soyuncu, Ward, Iborra, Fuchs