A picture of Mesut Oezil has been making the rounds on social media since Arsenal beat Ludogorets Razgrad 3-2 away in the Champions League in midweek.

The hosts’ goalkeeper, Milan Borjan, was behind the German playmaker.

Two Ludogorets defenders, positioned between him and the goal but hopelessly sprawled on the turf just outside the six-yard box, could only watch as Oezil has the ball glued to his feet.

The image captured the split second just before Oezil tucked in the late wonder strike that clinched Arsenal’s victory.

His seven touches, which began when he received the ball in the opponents’ half and ended after he clipped the ball over the goalkeeper and dummied two defenders, showcased the class that no amount of training could hone.

The German, 28, is in the form of his life and that spells trouble for a Tottenham Hotspur side who are winless in six matches ahead of tonight’s North London Derby at the Emirates Stadium.

Since moving from Madrid to London in 2013, Oezil has been one of Arsenal’s most influential players.

Last season was his most productive yet, yielding six goals and a league-high 19 assists.

This term, he has three goals and one assist to his name in the league but, in the Champions League, he has been outstanding with four goals and two assists in four games.

Oezil has been one of the Gunners’ best performers as the team charged into second place in the Premier League (before last night’s games), and secured a knockout spot in the Champions League with two games to spare.

His repertoire is wide-ranging, with his teammates counting on him to split open defences with his through-passes, throw defences into disarray with his mazy runs, and carve out gilt-edged scoring chances with his rare ability to read the game quicker than others.

The German’s consistency in excelling in the No. 10 role is something Spurs’ own midfield magician Dele Alli must try to emulate.

Alli’s career skyrocketed after making his Premier League debut for Spurs as a 19-year-old last season.

By the end of the campaign, during which he scored 10 goals and set up nine, he was the PFA Young Player of the Year and an England regular.

SPURS’ HERO

His rapid rise struck a chord with Spurs fans desperate for a new hero, and his integral role in Spurs’ unexpected EPL title tilt last term seemed to confirm their belief that they have something as special as Oezil.

It is why they have hijacked a football chant often sung by Arsenal fans in honour of Oezil, and changed its lyrics to celebrate their love for their young hero.

To the tune of Billy Ray Cyrus’ Achy Breaky Heart, it goes: “… he only cost 5 mil, he’s better than Oezil, we’ve got Dele Alli!”

Alli has admitted that he sings it in his car sometimes.

The music in his football, however, has gone out of sync this season.

Fresh from signing a new contract and with it an inevitable big pay rise, Alli has struggled to replicate last term’s sharp displays despite his three Premiership goals.

His dynamic movement has been replaced by ponderous runs.

His crisp passing is wayward, and often, he is slowing down the play in the final third of the field rather than posing a threat.

He was atrocious when Spurs were beaten 1-0 by Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League in midweek.

The confidence that he had in abundance seems to have disappeared.

His manager Mauricio Pochettino was quick to remind everyone that this is “only his second season in the Premier League”.

“Many things happened last season and sometimes he needs to breathe a little bit,” said the Argentinian.

KANE’S BACK

Some put his mediocre performances down to the absence of the injured Harry Kane, whose link play often brings the best out of him.

Alli will be relieved that Spurs’ top striker is in the squad that travel to the Emirates Stadium tonight.

But it is easy to forget that he is still only 20 and time is on his side.

His battle with Oezil tonight will tell us more about what he is made of.

MAN CITY 1

(Sergio Aguero 43)

MIDDLESBROUGH 1

(Marten de Roon 90+1)

It was always going to be a tall order to match the quality of their majestic European performance just five days ago.

But that wasn’t a requirement.

Against Middlesbrough yesterday, it was a test of Manchester City’s concentration.

The glamorous Champions League win over mighty Barcelona elevated the Citizens to the clouds, and it was time to show that they could also grind it out in a bread-and-butter Premier League clash.

But they crashed down to earth at the Etihad Stadium yesterday, sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw with lowly Middlesbrough that no one saw coming.

It wasn’t so much a case of complacency.

It was their failure to put the game beyond the visitors who were outrun and outclassed in the first half.

City had enough chances to bury the match by half-time.

They could have been up by a couple of goals before Sergio Aguero put them ahead just before the break.

The Argentinian should have had a hat-trick before disaster struck in injury-time, when Marten de Roon stole in at the far post to head in the equaliser and send the small pocket of away fans into dreamland.

This was exactly the nightmare manager Pep Guardiola was trying to avoid.

Kevin de Bruyne, prior to the match, had fired an ominous warning.

He rightly pointed out that their five-star European show against the Catalan giants would count for nothing if they couldn’t take down Middlesbrough to keep up their domestic title charge.

This was the perfect chance to build on the impressive 4-1 win over West Brom the last time out.

SHOCK RESULT

Judging from the first-half display, nobody would have predicted the shock result at the end.

The hosts seized the initiative right from the start.

Middlesbrough defended deep, with former City striker Alvaro Negredo isolated on his own up front as the focal point of their counter-attacking game.

City initially struggled to carve out clear goal-scoring chances, but the opportunities began to come in droves after the halfway mark of the first period.

De Bruyne’s attempt in the 24th minute to find the bottom right-corner of goal went narrowly wide.

Moments later, Aguero suddenly found himself with time and space at the edge of the penalty box, but could only send a tame effort straight at Middlesbrough goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

The Argentinian then missed another great opportunity when he failed to match the brilliance of a lovely build-up, failing to beat Valdes from inside the box.

The best chance of the half fell to David Silva just outside the six-yard box in the 35th minute, but Valdes, in inspired form, saved superbly to keep his goal intact.

It seemed like Valdes and Middlesbrough were merely postponing the inevitable though.

Such was City’s dominance.

When Aguero netted his ninth goal in 11 Premier League games by escaping two markers to stab the ball in from close range in the 43rd minute, it looked like the floodgates would open.

Middlesbrough, missing the in-form Gaston Ramirez through suspension, could count themselves lucky to be only a goal down at half-time.

The visitors failed to muster a single shot, let alone trouble Claudio Bravo, and had only 22 per cent of the ball in the first 45 minutes.

City slowed down their frantic attacking pace in the second period, although they still continued to enjoy chances in front of Middlesbrough’s goal.

The visitors fired an early warning though, when out of the blue, Adam Forshaw found himself with only Bravo to beat, but the custodian pulled off an excellent save.

Halfway through the second half, Ilkay Guendogan, scorer of two goals against Barcelona, saw his volley go narrowly wide after the ball fell kindly to him.

Then Aguero missed another easy chance by heading over.

Four minutes from time, he had yet another opportunity to seal a victory but, despite being in acres of space in the penalty area, sent his effort over the bar.

The stage was set for the classic sucker-punch.

In the dying moments, George Friend curled in a peach of a cross from the left flank to the far post, where de Roon delivered a stunning header past Bravo.

The match statistics magnified City’s profligacy. They had peppered 25 shots at their opponents, seven of which were on target.

Middlesbrough mustered just five, with only three on target.

Enough said.

BY THE NUMBERS

150: Sergio Aguero has now scored 150 goals in just 223 appearances in all competitions for Manchester City.

Take up the challenge and prove your love for the bride, say the bridesmaids.

And often, the challenges are accepted by the sporting groom and his band of “brothers” – it does not matter how awkward or embarrassing the tests can get.

Take the case of the groom and his groomsmen trying to retrieve a gummy worm from a bowl of live worms.

The video of the incident went viral and prompted criticism from netizens.

How far can such activities get?

Madam Ayra Quek, 29, recounts how her husband and his nine groomsmen had to eat from a diaper each at their wedding in February.

A concoction of Nutella chocolate and condensed milk, which was made to resemble faeces, was smeared on the 10 diapers.

Mr Amienuddin Abu Bakar, 29, and his entourage had to bury their faces into the diapers and polish them off.

They then lined the diapers which had letters attached to them to spell out “Amien (heart) Ayra”.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DARLAINE AYRA

Madam Quek, a sales executive, says she only learnt of it during the wedding reception.

“When I first watched the wedding video during the dinner reception, I kept saying ‘Oh my God’,” she says.

“But I was really touched.”

‘SPORTING’

Madam Quek adds: “My husband and the groomsmen were sporting.”

She reveals that there was a slight culture shock for the men at first.

Of the nine, one is Chinese, another Malay and the rest are Indian.

Madam Quek says: “Because my husband and most of the groomsmen are not Chinese, it was their first time experiencing a Chinese wedding gatecrash. So they did not know how it worked.”

Madam Quek, who is expecting a baby girl next month, adds: “My husband and his groomsmen actually finished all of the things that the bridesmaids made because they did not know that most of the time, people would just dump the food away or play cheat.

“They did everything perfectly.

“All of them took it pretty seriously and they did not know that the games were just to disturb them.”

The men also had to shake off clothespins from their bodies and faces while dancing to music.

Madam Quek says: “They may have received a low score for the games but I know my husband loves me very much.”

“Because my husband and most of the groomsmen are not Chinese, it was their first time experiencing a Chinese wedding gatecrash. So they did not know how it worked. My husband and his groomsmen actually finished all of the things that the bridesmaids made because they did not know that most of the time, people would just dump the food away or play cheat.”

– Madam Ayra Quek on her husband Amienuddin Abu Bakar and his entourage

On Friday, Dream Cruises by Genting Hong Kong, which also owns Star Cruises, launched its first vessel Genting Dream, touted as the first cruise ship to be built from scratch to cater to the Asian luxury market.

Among other attractions, it will host China’s Got Talent – The Dream Experience.

It is a 45-minute theatrical representation of the hit television series, and will feature the fifth season judges Vicki Zhao Wei, Liu Ye, Alec Su You Peng and Wang Wei Chung.

And for the first time, clubbers get to experience Zouk nightlife at sea, with an indoor dance club, a sports bar with billiards, a four-lane glow-in-the-dark bowling alley and an outdoor day and night party deck.

Last year, Singapore was the most visited port in Asia, but this year, it dropped to the third place with 391 scheduled calls.

South Korea’s Jeju Island and China’s Baoshan, Shanghai, surpass Singapore with 460 and 437 calls scheduled .

Nonetheless, in February, the Singapore Tourism Board highlighted the cruise industry as a key growth area.

The number of cruise passengers passing through Singapore has risen by 14 per cent year-on-year to 1 million people.

The mixed outlook for Singapore’s cruise industry does not deter some cruise operators from launching and homeporting new ships here this year and next year.

International cruise line Royal Caribbean has seen an average of 10 per cent growth in guest numbers on Singapore sailings every year since the cruise line started its regular homeporting seasons here in 2007.

It is expecting a stronger growth of 20 per cent this year and even 30 per cent next year, driven by longer seasons and larger ships.

In June, it deployed a brand new ship, the Ovation of the Seas, to Asia for homeporting in Singapore from March next year.

The US$1 billion (S$1.38 billion) ship, which took 18 months to build, can accommodate 4,905 guests in 2,090 staterooms.

It offers smart frills such as the Bionic Bar, where robotic hands mix and serve drinks in just a minute. 

Its top deck houses a glass capsule called North Star that rises nearly 100m above sea level and rotates out over the sides of the ship to provide 360-degree views.

Since its 2017 March-April Singapore season opened for sale in June, it is almost 50 per cent booked, says its spokesman.

Doing particularly well are the school holiday sailings on March 11 and March 15, as well as a 12-night Singapore-Tianjin one-way cruise in April.

Says Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) head of sales Mona Foo: “There is plenty onboard for guests of all ages to enjoy. More locals are becoming aware of the great value-for-money highly inclusive packages and unbeatable convenience of unpacking only once on a trip to multiple destinations.

BIONIC BAR

The Bionic Bar, where robotic hands mix and serve drinks in just a minute. PHOTO: ROYAL CARIBBEAN SINGAPORE

“We believe that it’s a matter of time before cruising becomes one of the top vacation options among Singaporeans.”

Passenger capacity in Asia is expected to grow by 39 per cent year-on-year from 2016 to 2017, surpassing the current 3 million passenger record for the first time, says Mr Farriek Tawfik, quoting a Cruise Industry News Annual Report.

The Princess Cruises’ director of Southeast Asia says: “Cruising is becoming an ideal first choice, rather than an alternative vacation option.

“A booming consumer market and rise of the affluent group continue to drive demand for cruise travel in this region.”

His company is deploying the Diamond Princess here from this month to March next year.

“We saw high customer satisfaction for our first two homeporting seasons in Singapore, and are excited to be deploying in Southeast Asia for a third season,” he said.

Among the ship’s features is the Izumi Japanese bath – the largest Japanese bath at sea – and the Kai sushi bar. “Japanese experiences have always been a perennial favourite for guests in Singapore,” he adds.

An ambulance had to be towed out yesterday from a field in Kim Keat Avenue, the same place where a bendy bus was stuck for 10 hours in September.

The ambulance got stuck while trying to take a shortcut to reach an emergency case nearby, The Straits Times reported on its website.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted at 10.10am that someone had injured himself near Block 256, Kim Keat Avenue.

DISPATCHED

After the private ambulance operator with the SCDF that was sent got stuck, another was dispatched.

“The patient was conscious and alert when conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital,” the SCDF said.

The rescue vehicle was itself “rescued” around 12.15pm.

Mr Pang Too Kong, 56, a photographer who lives nearby, said the field had been returfed after the bendy bus drove through the same entry point.

Read about the bendy bus incident here.

Auxiliary police officer Wee Chui Li, 40, never missed a day of work, even if she was feeling unwell.

When the Malaysian woman did not show up at her workplace in Singapore on Thursday morning and did not respond to calls and text messages, her colleagues and friends got worried.

Her best friend, Ms Tee Choon Meng, 37, hurried back to Johor Baru at 7pm after her shift in Singapore ended.

In a telephone interview, Ms Tee told The New Paper on Sunday: “I searched for her in police stations and hospitals, but I could not find any information.”

So she decided to extend her search to Facebook. It was then that she spotted her friend’s motorcycle on a Facebook page that posts updates of accidents on Malaysian roads.

She rallied a group of five friends and family members to search for Ms Wee that night.

Auxiliary police officer Wee Chui Li. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

But it was only at 11am yesterday that Ms Tee’s fears were confirmed.

Ms Wee’s body was found nearly 54 hours after she fell into a drain on her way to work here.

Ms Wee was at the Taman Sri Tebrau road junction at about 6.40am on Thursday when another motorcycle hit her.

KILLED: A search and rescue team found Ms Wee’s body on a ​Johor riverbank. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/INFO  KEMALANGAN & BENCA

The accident happened when she was about 30 minutes from the Woodlands Checkpoint.

The impact of the crash caused Ms Wee’s motorcycle to skid and she fell into a drain, which was connected to Sungai Tebrau, reported Malaysian newspaper Sin Chew Daily.

The other motorcyclist, who was behind her, fell off the bike after the crash.

RAINING

Visibility was poor that morning as it was raining heavily.

Passers-by tried to help but Ms Wee was carried away by the strong currents very quickly, said witnesses.

Ms Tee, who has been friends with Ms Wee for 20 years, recounted their futile search.

They had rushed down to the scene at about 9pm and a police officer confirmed the accident because Ms Wee’s identity card was found next to the motorcycle.

She said: “The rescue team would start searching only the next morning, so we wanted to find her on our own as fast as possible.

“Only one of us had a torchlight and the rest of us used the light from our mobile phones.”

They found her helmet after walking for a few hours and searched until about 3am on Friday morning.

The Johor Fire and Rescue Department said it was informed of the incident only on Friday. A search and rescue team was sent to the scene.

The search was called off by 6.30pm on Friday and resumed again yesterday.

Johor Fire and Rescue Department public relations unit head Mohamad Riduan Akhyar told the New Straits Times Online the body of Ms Wee was found washed up on the riverbank, about 5km from the accident site.

Mr Riduan said the team had been searching for her along the monsoon drain and at the rubbish traps that led into Sungei Tebrau.

“The body of the victim has been handed over to the police for further action,” said Mr Riduan.

Her body was taken to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital, reported Sin Chew Daily.

The Selangor native lived in Plentong, Johor Baru, about an hour from Singapore.

She had to report to work in Singapore by 9am every day.

Ms Wee, who was single, had worked in Singapore for 19 years.

Her elder brother and younger sister rushed to Johor Baru after hearing about the accident.

Ms Tee described her friend as a friendly and warm-hearted person.

She said: “We became close because she was living alone without her family.

“I was really hoping that she was still alive, or that someone had found her. “

SWANSEA v MAN UNITED

(Tonight, 10.55pm, Singtel TV Ch 105 & StarHub TV Ch 230)

After making a bright start to his Manchester United career, he has scored just once in his last 11 appearances.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s barren spell has led to critics calling for him to be dropped, but United manager Jose Mourinho expects the Swede’s “brilliant” attitude to soon be rewarded with goals.

“He (Ibrahimovic) is playing well for the team. He’s creating a lot of chances, but missing a lot of goals,” said Mourinho of the 35-year-old who joined the club from Paris St Germain in the summer.

“If I remember Stoke (City), Liverpool, Chelsea, Burnley… he missed a lot of goals, but he was fantastic in his dynamic, his working, his building-up for the team – he was fantastic.

“In every match in the Premier League, even (if he is) not scoring goals, he’s being fantastic.

NO PROBLEM

“His attitude is always brilliant. He’s not a guy afraid of his responsibilities, so no problem at all.”

Ibrahimovic’s lean spell is not the only cause of concern for Mourinho as his side have netted just 13 times in 10 league games, including three straight fixtures without a goal since the 1-1 draw with Stoke on Oct 2.

United, who have slumped to eighth in the Premier League following a string of poor results, will look to get back to winning ways when they travel to Swansea City tonight.

So dominant for so long under Sir Alex Ferguson, United have struggled to replicate that supremacy since the Scot’s retirement in 2013.

It is very early in Mourinho’s tenure but, 10 matches into the Premier League season, they are already seven points off the top four before last night’s matches.

United approach the Swansea match reeling from a difficult 2-1 Europa League defeat by Fenerbahce, where Moussa Sow’s overhead kick after 65 seconds set the Turkish side on course for victory.

EARLY SETBACK

It was the second successive away game that United had failed to recover from an early setback, with Pedro Rodriguez’s 30th-second strike setting Chelsea up for a 4-0 win last month.

Mourinho wants the Red Devils to start showing better leadership and mental strength.

“It can happen everywhere,” the United manager said, when asked if the recent early goals were a concern.

“There are so many examples in football where people score goals in the first minutes. Nobody is free of that.

“But, with a stronger attitude, leadership on the pitch, defenders in control of the emotion and the organisation, it’s easier to be strong, it’s easier to be solid.”

Injuries to key defenders Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly and Antonio Valencia have no doubt disrupted things, but Mourinho has a problem of his own at Swansea, given he will have to watch from the stands due to a one-match touchline ban for his behaviour towards officials against Burnley.

The Portuguese told reporters to “forget it” when they attempted to quiz him on the absence, giving a similar curt response when asked if Bastian Schweinsteiger would be involved tonight.

The former Germany captain’s first-team exile surprisingly came to an end this week, but his return to training – and an apparent thigh injury to Paul Pogba – will not see him come into contention for Swansea.

“No, because I decide and I decide no,” Mourinho said, when asked if Schweinsteiger could feature.

“It’s too early for him. He’s training with the team for three or four days. He’s not ready to play football at that level.” – PA Sport.