Former West Ham player Trevor Sinclair weighs in on the Payet-Ozil comparisons

Follow us on Google Discover

West Ham United’s Dimitri Payet has been compared to Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil.

Former West Ham United player Trevor Sinclair feels Dimitri Payet has been on the same level as Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil this season in terms of performances, the London Evening Standard reports.

Payet joined the Hammers in the summer from Marseille and has made an immediate impact, impressing pundits and observers alike with a string of eye-catching displays.

Indeed, former player Sinclair has been taken aback by his impressive start to life in the Premier League and feels the comparisons with Arsenal ace Ozil are justified.

“I think Ozil is a special player, he’s a World Cup winner and he’s been very instrumental in Arsenal’s play this year but I also think Payet has,” Sinclair explained, quoted by the LES.

“The fact that he’s come into the Premier League in his first season and been as influential and got as many plaudits as he has shows we are talking about a top, top player.

“He works hard for the team, he’s possibly more dangerous scoring goals than Ozil, and I definitely feel comfortable putting them in the same breath.”

As illustrated by the table provided by Opta, the two players perform extremely well over a number of key categories and any comparison between the two seems very reasonable.

Payet has notched six goals for the Hammers in 16 Premier League matches, while also bettering Ozil in terms of shots, successful take-ons and ball recoveries per league encounter.

The Gunners’ German World Cup winner boasts a better assist record, as well as posting more key passes and accurate passes per league match, although playing in a better team does help his cause.

The duo are undoubtedly among the Premier League’s best performing play-makers this year, and for what Payet cost West Ham in terms of a transfer fee, he will go down as one of the buys of the season.