"YOU have to give me credit," Arsene Wenger said after watching Mesut Ozil orchestrate Arsenal's victory over Bournemouth here. "I always defended him [Ozil] even when you were sceptical about him."

The Arsenal manager seemed more than chuffed to find the football press purring at what they had just witnessed and asking questions like 'is he the best player in the Premier League?' and 'would you compare him to Dennis Bergkamp."

Undoubtedly, Ozil was the key man here as the Gunners bounced back from their Boxing Day disaster at Southampton by climbing to the top of the league with a comfortable win over the Cherries. A nervy first 20 minutes in which the visitors looked bright and bushy-tailed was slowly converted into a match Arsenal came to dominate, looking dangerous from Ozil's set pieces and through balls.

Ozil supplied the opener by floating a corner onto Gabriel's head for an easy put-away in the first half, and then wrapped up the three points by rolling home a one-two with Olivier Giroud in the second. He might have even more assists to his name had Theo Walcott not wasted at least two clear chances. There were other pinball corners from which Arsenal might have scored and with a bit more composure Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could have added his name to the scoresheet during an energetic if frustrating performance.

Ozil, the creator supreme, scores one of his own

It was Ozil, however, that was pulling the strings.

"What is important is that he is convincing everybody that he is not only a talented player but one that works hard for the team," Wenger beamed. "He has now added scoring goals to his assists. He is the complete player."

Is he the best player in the league? "You must look at what he is doing," said Wenger diplomatically. "Look at the number of assists he has – they speak for him."

Does he remind you of Bergkamp? "Yes," said Wenger. "They are comparable. Bergkamp was more of a goalscorer and Ozil is more of assists, but he is now adding goals too."

The manager added: "Mesut was the focal point of our team because we had a new midfield again and he is the guy who brings reassurance with his technical security, and fludity."

Arsenal's title hopes were dealt a blow with a 4-0 defeat at St Mary's two days ago, but the win here means that they will lead the league going in to 2016 if Leicester fail to beat Manchester City tomorrow (Tuesday) evening.

Wenger said: "You cannot go from the start of the season to the end without, at some stage, disappointment. This [the loss at Southampton] was a big one and after that it depends on how well you respond."

The response led visiting manager Eddie Howe to suggest that he may have been watching title-winners, admitting that his side had "completely lost their way" after falling behind. He admitted that he too had been forced to marvel at Ozil's passing masterclass.

The foamy analysis of Ozil's contribution, however, meant a milestone moment for Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech was to be overshadowed. At the final whistle, he overtook David James's record for clean sheets in the Premier League by keeping his 170th. Most of them, of course, were claimed in a Chelsea shirt, but the stability he has brought to Arsenal is obvious and has led to greater curiosity as to how Roman Abramovich's underperforming champions had allowed him to join a close rival.

Again, Wenger was asked to compare Cech to some of his past charges. "Seaman," he said. "They are comparable."

Arsenal: Cech, Gibbs (Monreal 82), Bellerin, Mertesacker (c), Gabriel, Chambers, Ozil, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Iwobi 93), Walcott, Giroud (Campbell 80)
Subs not used: Debuchy, Ospina, Koscielny, Reine Adelaide

Attendance: 59,983