by Lee Hurley

When Mesut Ozil returned to the squad after a three month lay-off with a knee injury, he was a man transformed.

Enduring a tough time in his first season at Arsenal, he had to listen to people who were unable to mention his name without also mentioning his price tag talk about him while demonstrating that they hadn’t the slightest clue what they were talking about.

There is no doubting the impact he had on the squad after the injury, helped, of course, by the return of a number of others as well, but it’s widely accepted that the second half of the season was one in which he shone more than he had managed prior to the layoff.

Speaking to Arsenal.com, Mesut revealed just what he did to get back to full fitness

“In general, injuries always feel like a backward step,” Ozil said. “After a few days and weeks, I really missed playing football. I was watching all the matches and wanted to help the team but I couldn’t because I had to do my therapy and rest in order to get fit as soon as possible.

“I worked really hard to come back totally ready in the shortest possible time. I focused only on football, changed my diet and had extra training sessions. Now I feel really good, I feel comfortable and fit, but that injury wasn’t such a good time for me. I had to be careful when I was injured. I wanted to play but had to be responsible. My aim was always to come back stronger and I think I’ve done that.”

Just imagine what it’s going to be like having Ozil in this sort of form for a whole season? Even when only operating at 50% he’s better than most others on the planet, at 100% he’s unstoppable.