Intro:

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger defends the contribution made by Mesut Ozil to his team.

Script:

SOUNDBITE (English) Arsene Wenger, Arsenal coach:

(on Mesut Ozil being singled out as an underperformer in the Arsenal side):

"Look, it's a bit unfair because I believe our offensive talents on Tuesday night were not always in the best condition to express that talent and on the other hand it's post World Cup, he came back on the 11th August, you know it takes a few months for them to get back to their best. That can happen."

SOUNDBITE (English) Arsene Wenger, Arsenal coach:

Question: 'It's something they were talking about at Bayern Munich as well in the week that their World Cup players, physically and maybe even mentally are not back to what they were doing...'

"Yes, it's true and I see it as well and many of the World Cup players do not even play at the moment. I believe that's natural, I've seen that before, I've gone through that before and that's normal. It's more mental than physical, in my opinion."

SOUNDBITE (English) Arsene Wenger, Arsenal coach:

(on trying to get the best out of Mesut Ozil):

"Look, that's a secondary debate, in my opinion, because he has the freedom to play, when we have the ball, to go where he wants and if you look at the 'heat map' of where he plays, you'd be amazed where he is all over the pitch."