United Legend Expects Ozil to Overshadow Tottenham Signing This Season

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has backed Arsenal's Mesut Ozil to hit the ground running far quicker than Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen.

Andre Villas-Boas' side appeared to have taken significant steps in overtaking their north London rivals during a transfer window that saw the club offset the loss of Gareth Bale with a glut of thrilling new signings which concluded in the arrival of 20-year-old Eriksen from Ajax.

But Arsenal would eclipse the Premier League's previous summer deals with their club record signing of Germany international Ozil from Real Madrid for a fee of £42.5m on deadline day, a move widely heralded as the league's biggest deal of the summer.

Both players have been tipped to make a compelling contribution to their respective side's attack this season, but former Ajax custodian van der Sar believes the more experienced German will take less time to flourish in the Premier League.

"Last week I was at the Arsenal v Tottenham game and it is a game played at a punishing pace up and down," the former United shot stopper told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

"Eriksen is a great footballer, but with the game's tremendous pace, he will have some problems in the beginning.

"Holland remains a springboard for players to get to the Premier League or other major leagues.

"But Ozil is nearly four years older than Eriksen, who at 21, has further development to go through in England."

Both Ozil and Eriksen were in action last night in World Cup qualifiers as Germany virtually sealed their spot in Brazil next summer with a 3-0 win over Faroe Islands while Denmark's hopes were kept alive thanks to a hard fought 1-0 victory over Armenia.

Ozil was in impressive form as he scored in addition to setting up his new Arsenal team mate Per Mertesacker while Eriksen dug deep alongside his Danish teammates after a 75th minute penalty from Daniel Agger gave his country the goal they needed.