Widely regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders on the entire planet, Mesut Özil is an assist machine. His 19 Premier League assists during the 2015/16 campaign not only led the league, but was the second-most tally in the Premier League era (only behind former Arsenal legend Thierry Henry’s 20 during the 2002/03 season). Özil’s creativity and vision are top-notch. He simply sees things on the pitch that others don’t.

Not only did the Germany international lead the Premier League in assists last season, but he also racked up more chances created, key passes, and through balls than anyone in England’s top division as well. 10 matches into the current campaign, Özil’s assist numbers have fallen a bit, but it would be somewhat unrealistic to expect 19 league assists per season out of the midfielder. Although Özil hasn’t lost his impeccable vision, nor the ability to create chances, he has slowly changed one facet of his game since his arrival to north London three years ago: his goal-scoring ability.

Özil was never really much of a goalscorer during his career prior to the switch to Arsenal. In fact, the playmaker’s highest goal tally in a campaign was 10, and that was playing in 52 total matches of a season. The Arsenal midfielder has already racked up seven goals in just 13 matches this season.

Following his incredible goal versus Ludogorets on Tuesday in Bulgaria, his goal total during his time with Arsenal is now 27. Özil also netted the same amount of goals with Real Madrid; however, he played in 29 more games with Los Blancos than he has with the Gunners at this point.

The upturn in goals for Özil with Arsenal has been a gradual one. As noted in the chart below, the midfielder has recorded more goals and taken more shots in each of his seasons with the Gunners.

Per 90 Minutes in Premier League & Champions League

Arsenal brought in the world-class Özil to help add creativity and flair to the club. While he has certainly not disappointed in that department, adding goals to his game gives the Gunners even more value in the £42.5 million transfer fee that they willingly gave Real in 2013.

Özil is also adding firepower up front for Arsenal in a place in which they weren’t necessarily expecting it. During the 2015/16 season, the Gunners scored 65 league goals, lowest out of the top four clubs in the table. The current campaign has been a bit different so far. Arsenal have netted 23 goals in their first 10 league matches (second best), and only Barcelona have scored more Champions League goals on the season.

Along with Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, and eventually Danny Welbeck, Özil’s threat in front of goal adds a whole other dimension to the Arsenal attack. This new aggressiveness not only makes Özil an even better player, but it makes Arsenal tough to beat.