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Why are Shrek and a T-Rex scoring Mesut Ozil's goal? The viral AI trend explained

Ten years ago, Mesut Özil scored one of the most famous goals of his career.

The Arsenal playmaker was sent in behind the Ludogorets back line in a 2016 Champions League game. Özil deftly flicked the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper's head, then showed incredible composure to dance past two desperately lunging defenders before calmly finishing into an open net.

Özil, who retired in 2023, was known more for his assists during his career, but the late winning goal against the Bulgarian side will always be remembered.

Now, thanks to AI, Özil's goal has been resurrected in a strange new way.

The former Germany international's goal has been at the center of a recent viral trend in which the most cinematic replay of his strike has been used as a template for any number of characters – animated, video game, TV or movies – scoring the exact same goal.

Everyone from Walter White to SpongeBob SquarePants to a T-Rex has been inserted into AI videos of the goal.

Below we've selected some of the best examples of this strange and sometimes hilarious trend.

Michael Scott from 'The Office'

Uncle Phil from 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'

Woody from 'Toy Story'

A chicken

Mario

A T-Rex

SpongeBob SquarePants

Shrek

Albus Dumbledore from 'Harry Potter'

But the winner for the strangest upside-down version of the goal came from Özil himself, who inserted an AI version of his current, more muscular self scoring a goal that he had actually scored.

What a world.

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