Ozil calls tune for Gunners

Arsenal 3 Stoke City 1

The £42.5 million German midfielder, signed on deadline day from Real Madrid, looked ultra comfortable in his new surroundings, raising the levels of those around him without ever having to hit his world class best against an uninspiring Stoke side.

The club record signing played a key role in all three Arsenal goals, marking his home debut by guiding his new club to an early lead in the Premier League title race.

Former Arsenal manager George Graham always claimed it was not worth looking at a league table until 10 games into the season, so he will not be bothered the club he guided to two titles are top after only five matches. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” was Graham’s mantra, but Ozil already reckons Arsenal can go the distance and he will clearly have a big say if they are to win a first trophy since 2005.

Germany manager Joachim Low watched from the stands and he had an unexpected bonus on his trip to see how Ozil is settling, the surprise inclusion of German teenager Serge Gnabry. The former VFB Stuttgart youth star, 18, started after Theo Walcott aggravated an abdominal problem in the warm-up and seized his first Premier League start with relish.

Having built his Arsenal dynasty on French foundations, Arsene Wenger’s side boasted three Germans starting yesterday (Lukas Podolski is injured), with Per Mertesacker captaining from the back, alongside four France internationals.

Wenger said: “You don’t expect to score three set pieces against Stoke, so it shows how important the delivery is. Mesut’s assists record is not a coincidence but a reality of his game.

“His performances show football is football; a good player makes a good pass whether it is in Spain or in England, just as a bad pass is a bad pass whatever country you are playing in.

“I believe we will see even more of him once he is fully integrated, but he has shown already he is a really great player. He has given a lift to everybody at the club, but it is our whole teamwork that will make us successful.”

And it was the German connection that got things going when Ozil’s early free-kick resulted in another significant goal for Aaron Ramsey

Even better for Ramsey, he was able to wheel away in celebration directly past the Stoke fans who charmlessly taunted him with relentless chants of Ryan Shawcross, a reference to their captain’s tackle that resulted in a career-threatening double broken leg in 2010.

Wenger claims it has taken Ramsey three years to get over the physical and psychological damage but he needed only five minutes to remind the Stoke faithful how complete his recovery is.

The Welsh midfielder made it seven in eight games when he rammed in the rebound after Asmir Begovic palmed Ozil’s free-kick into his path.

Arsenal’s own defensive frailties were exposed 20 minutes later when Stoke equalised. Mertesacker allowed Austria’s Marko Arnautovic to get the wrong side of him from Steven Nzonzi’s deft chip and the ensuing shot hit a post before Geoff Cameron drove in a neat shot from the edge of the area.

Mertesacker then had an effort cleared off the line before he fully made amends for his error by restoring Arsenal’s lead in the 36th minute. Ozil again teed it up with a corner from the right and his big fellow countryman rose imperiously at the near post to flick a header into the opposite side of the goal.

Cue free-flowing Arsenal domination? Not quite. This Mark Hughes Stoke side, just like his predecessor Tony Pulis, are made of strong stuff and continued to make work hard for Arsenal after the break.

Cracks were beginning to show in the Stoke make-up, however, and Hughes withdrew the tiring legs of Charlie Adam for Stephen Ireland with just over half an hour to go. They looked more resolute and pressed with renewed vigour for an equaliser, with Wojciech Szczesny saving at full stretch from a Marc Wilson shot.

Their spirit was finally broken with 18 minutes to go when Ozil clipped another dead ball towards the far post and Bacary Sagna out-jumped Stoke’s lofty defenders to loop a header into the back of the net with some style.

No wonder he celebrated so heartily and no wonder Ozil was handed a standing ovation when withdrawn 10 minutes from time to allow Mikel Arteta a late run out for his first appearance of the season following injury.

The marathon has just begun but with quality players such as Ozil producing results such as this so soon, Wenger’s men will be hard to dislodge from the leading pack.

For their part, Stoke will have better days against lesser opponents.

ARSENAL: Szczesny 7; Sagna 7, Mertesacker 6, Koscielny 6, Gibbs 7; Flamini 7, Ramsey 7, Wilshere 6 (Monreal 73, 6) Ozil 8 (Arteta 80, 6), Gnabry 6 (Myaichi 73, 5); Giroud 6

STOKE: Begovic 6; Cameron 7, Shawcross 6, Huth 5, Pieters 5 (Palacios 67, 6); Walters 5, Wilson 7, Nzonzi 7, Adam 5 (Ireland 59, 6), Arnautovic 6; Jones 5 (Pennant 75, 5)

Referee: Mike Dean 7.