Ozil: I am as ambitious as Cristiano Ronaldo

Arsenal star Mesut Ozil insists his ambitions match Cristiano Ronaldo’s even though he is not as hungry for goals as his former Real Madrid team-mate.

Ozil is recognised as a supremely gifted attacking midfielder but has often been criticised for a poor return in front of goal.

On the other end of the spectrum, Ronaldo is one of the greatest goalscorers of all time and has on occasion shown frustration when a team-mate has found the net instead of himself.

However, Ozil is adamant that he and Ronaldo share more similarities than one would first expect.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is obviously very ambitious, but so am I,” the Germany international told L’Equipe when asked whether he is the opposite of the Portugal star.

“I am a perfectionist on the pitch as well. I want to be successful with everything I do.

“During the time I played alongside Ronaldo [at Real Madrid], I saw that he always wanted to win everything, even on the training pitch. He is never satisfied and always wants more. He always wants more titles and there are not a lot of players with that attitude.

“Personally, I am not as hungry for goals like Ronaldo. But that’s only normal. He is an attacker. For me, scoring goals and providing assists is the same. They both win you matches.”

Ozil has provided one assist in four appearances at Euro 2016 and has yet to score at the finals in France.

The attacking midfielder will be looking to guide his team past Italy in Saturday’s quarter-final in Bordeaux.