• Premier League

Mertesacker demands more from Ozil

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has backed team-mate Mesut Ozil to make even more of an impression at the Emirates this season after a settling into the Premier League with ease.

Ozil provided the final pass for Jack Wilshere's second goal after earlier missing a penalty in Tuesday's Champions League win over Marseille, adding to his two goals and four assists in the league.

The Germany international made an immediate impact after joining the Gunners from Real Madrid in the summer and his compatriot believes there is still much more to look forward to.

"Mesut has made good progress. He is in good form and you can see that," Mertesacker said. "He was always a threat [against Marseille] and he never gave up after the penalty that he missed.

"We are very delighted with him, especially in the transition from defence to offence, when he is always a threat. He can play the balls, he is the one who always goes deep all of the time. He is in good form and I think we will see more.

"Sometimes he looks like his head is going down, but we said at half-time that we do not care (about the missed penalty). We just go on and that is what he did."

Ozil has shared the workload with the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Wilshere in attack, with Mertesacker adamant that the number of options in Arsenal's frontline has been crucial to their domestic success.

"Mesut moves well between the lines, so it is always difficult to defend against him," he added. "When the centre-back comes out with him, there is always space for others to go in, so he helps us create more chances.

"We are playing well as a team and we should continue that in the Champions League and the Premier League."

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