Arsène Wenger says Mesut Özil has more players to compete with for an Arsenal place now, but he still thinks the German is one of the best players in the world.

Özil finally seems to have shaken off the injury problems that have been troubling him all season. Mesut missed the opening game in the Community Shield, then played a few games, missed one, came back, then was out again. So it’s a relief that the German says he’s fully recovered now.

But Wenger says it’s not as easy as just walking back into the team, given the players who have stepped up in his absence. The Arsenal boss explained (via talkSPORT): “Of course he is important. But I have many players – we spoke about Jack, we spoke about Iwobi.

“They are all players who play in this similar position and it is very interesting because it gives me a lot of opportunities to keep them all focused and refreshed.”

Jack and Iwobi have certainly done well in recent weeks. Iwobi put in a disciplined performance against Chelsea, scored against Brighton and then sent his country to the World Cup with a goal in the international break.

Meanwhile Jack hasn’t played much, but he’s been impressive on the few occasions he has been given a chance. He also completed 90 minutes twice, a sign of his gowing fitness levels.

As for the criticism of Mesut from pundits such as Martin Keown and Paul Merson, Wenger said he still thinks the World Cup winner is one of the best around: “We live in the world where people have opinions and sometimes they are right and sometimes they are not always proven right on the longer period.

“You need players who have quality and Özil is one of the best players in the world.”