Arsenal record-signing Mesut Ozil set for debut

LONDON: With the disruption of the international break over, Premier League clubs will be looking for their late additions to make an instant impact this weekend.
Arsenal has pinned its hopes on record-signing Mesut Ozil, the only transfer fee paid out by the club in the recent market window.
The Germany playmaker is in line to make his debut at Sunderland on Saturday after joining from Real Madrid for 50 million euros ($67 million) on Sept. 2.
After a losing start, Arsenal responded with back-to-back wins, and Ozil’s arrival has further improved the mood at the Emirates Stadium.
“It is a statement to what the club want to do and what the club want to achieve,” Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs said. “It is something that everyone has been waiting for so now we have a big signing to help push us to the next level.
“He has got a clinical side to him and technically he is world-class. He is going to create a lot of problems for opposition we come up against.”
Manchester United had talked of making several additions to the squad to its Premier League title-winning squad.
However, new manager David Moyes’ only major summer recruitment was Marouane Fellaini from former club Everton on deadline-day for 27.5 million pounds ($43 million).
The Belgium midfielder joined after Moyes failed to land his first-choice targets.
“It is a big step for me,” Fellaini said. “But I have played five years in England, I know the league and I know the players so I don’t think I will have a problem with this move.”
He arrives at a team that has endured a patchy start to the season.
It started on a high with an eye-catching win at Swansea, but a drab draw against Chelsea and a loss at Liverpool followed to leave United going into Saturday’s match against Crystal Palace five points off the lead.
Liverpool is setting the pace so far as the only team with maximum points from a three straight 1-0 wins.
The 18-time English champions, who are at Swansea on Monday, have made their best start to a league campaign in 20 years.
Liverpool’s big success over the summer was not caving into Luis Suarez’s demands by granting the unsettled striker a transfer, while bolstering its forward options on deadline-day by signing Victor Moses on loan from Chelsea for the season.
But striker Daniel Sturridge, who has scored all of Liverpool’s this season, is an injury doubt after missing England’s World Cup qualifiers over the last week with a left thigh injury.
The strong start by Liverpool, which last won the title in 1990, has left the expected leading title contenders — Chelsea and Manchester City — trailing at this early stage.
Chelsea, which is two points behind, is at Everton on Saturday when City takes on Stoke.
City is three points adrift of Liverpool along with Arsenal, Stoke and Tottenham.
The international break allowed Tottenham to settle following Gareth Bale’s move to Real Madrid.
Manager Andre Villas-Boas will be hoping the loss in the last match at Arsenal proves to be a blip as he looks for his squad — reassembled by reinvesting the $130-million windfall from Bale’s move — to gel quickly.
“After the defeat at Arsenal, we want to be back alongside the top teams,” Villas-Boas said ahead of Saturday’s match against Norwich.
Everton, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion are still searching for their first wins.
Although Everton has managed three draws from three games, Sunderland and West Brom are stuck at the bottom on one point each.
West Brom is at Fulham on Saturday when Aston Villa hosts Newcastle and Cardiff is at Hull. In Sunday’s only game Southampton hosts West Ham, both teams with a win, a loss and a draw so far.