MEMORIES OF MESUT
Not long after the often sublime and occasionally infuriating Mesut Özil announced on Wednesday morning that it was time for him “to leave the big stage of football”, clips of that Big Cup goal he scored for Arsenal against Ludogorets in November 2016 began doing the rounds. Sprinting in behind to a long ball over the top from deep, the then-firm fan favourite took a touch, sombrero-kicked the bouncing ball over on-rushing goalkeeper Milan Borjan, before cutting inside and finding two furiously backtracking defenders between himself and the empty goal. With a barely discernible feint, he didn’t so much sit José Palomino and Cosmin Moti on their pants, as send them skittering Keystone Cops-style in opposite directions across the penalty area before side-footing Arsenal into an 87th-minute lead and ultimate 3-2 victory.
