‘Best I’ve ever seen’: Dan Ballard makes bold claim about Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil

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Arsenal defender, Dan Ballard, has claimed that Mesut Ozil is the best he has ever seen live or trained with in an interview with Goal.

Ozil is set to leave the Gunners in the coming days, with talks said to be underway with Fenerbahce over a move to Turkey.

It marks a poor end to life in north London for Ozil who, prior to Mikel Arteta taking over, had been a key and integral cog in the Arsenal line up since arriving from Real Madrid.

But despite struggling over the last year, Ballard – who is on loan at Blackpool – was full of praise for Ozil in terms of his footballing ability.

“I always say Ozil is the best I’ve ever seen live or trained with. It’s like he sees everything in slow motion. The way he moves and flows with the ball is so natural,” Ballard said.

“You can’t predict what he is going to do and you can’t switch off for one second or leave half a metre gap by being a bit lazy because he will pass the ball straight through it. Some of his touches and weight off pass, I’ve just never seen it before.”

Ozils’ exit should pave the way for youngters like Emile Smith-Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli to be given more minutes for the Gunners, while also getting a hefty chunk of money off the wage bill.

Nice comments from Ballard, it’s such a shame for Ozil and Arsenal – TBR View

Nobody has doubted Mesut Ozil’s talent so to see him leaving how he is is something of a shame for all involved.

The German has had outstanding moments in an Arsenal shirt and still has plenty to give. He clearly leaves having left a big impression on the likes of Ballard, too.