78 touches; five key passes: Arsenal star Mesut Ozil bossed Swansea encounter

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Arsenal defeated Swansea City 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil was the outstanding player as his side recorded an entertaining 3-2 victory over Premier League rivals Swansea City at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

The Gunners headed in to the match having won five straight games in the league, with their last coming via a 90th-minute winner against recently-promoted Burnley at Turf Moor.

Arsenal were expected to beat Swansea, yet the Welsh side had an extra spring in their step due to the appointment of American coach Bob Bradley and they certainly gave the hosts a game.

Theo Walcott grabbed two goals to set Arsenal on their way before Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled one back, and while Ozil restored the hosts’ two-goal advantage the visitors again found the net through Borja Baston.

Walcott will no doubt grab the headlines for his latest goal-scoring exploits, but the real star of the show at the Emirates was German international Ozil who demonstrated his quality on the ball.

As shown by the table provided by Opta above, the former Real Madrid man was heavily invovled and at times proved too hot for Swansea to handle.

Ozil posted an impressive two shots, five chances created via key passes, two successful take-ons and six ball recoveries while in possession he was reliable as ever with 43 accurate passes.

It was the German’s goal which really lit up the game though, as his perfectly-executed finish drew comparison to that famous Marco Van Basten strike for the Dutch national team.

Arsene Wenger hinted his record signing scores goals like that all the time in training, although it takes a special player to make such an impact in key moments when it really matters.

Arsenal’s win takes them up to second spot in the Premier League table, behind Manchester City on goal-difference.