Mesut Ozil is something of an enigma at Arsenal currently. In and out of the team more than Zidane through the Real Madrid door, it’s hard to tell whether he fits into Unai Emery’s plans or not. But he’s making the most of what little game time he’s getting, turning out for Arsenal’s crunch second leg Europa League tie against Rennes in the golden adidas ’25 Years of Predator’ Zidane Accelerator.
The adidas ’25 Years of Predator’ collection dropped earlier this month and it featured a recreation of David Beckham’s white Precision from 2002 alongside Zidane’s 1998 Accelerator, recreated in a regal gold colourway. Along with these two throwback classics, adidas also launched a new Predator 19+, for which David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane came together to put their spin on the current iteration.
Ozil normally favours the laceless approach of the modern Predator 19+, commenting on the appeal of a clean strike zone, so it was a surprise to see him opt for the throwback feels of the Accelerator over the new golden 19+. A closer inspection of the Accelerators that Ozil wore in the Gunner’s match against Rennes, in which they successfully overcame a two goal deficit from the first leg, shows that the German made his own alterations to the recreated classic, cutting off the iconic tongue. Borderline sacrilegious, that.
It appears that Ozil is not the only Arsenal player to take a shine to the Iconic Predator either; Frenchman Mateo Guendouzi was spotted training in a pair this week, and like Ozil, he too had removed the tongue. Unless it was the same pair and Guendouzi just let Ozil borrow them on match day…
Pick up the adidas “25 Years of Predator” Accelerator from prodirectsoccer.com
