Mesut Ozil has returned to training and is ready to help Arsenal get their season back on track.

Sidelined since October when he injured his knee against Chelsea, the playmaker has been sorely missed by the side.

Mesut Ozil Bild

Speaking to Bild in Germany, Ozil said

I worked hard, with Klaus Eder in Donaustauf and with Arsenal, and I want to finally return to the field. Watching [Arsenal whilst being] injured have been very bitter for me.

I really want to help my teams to catch up. Arsenal and the national team.

In the Premier League anything can happen, a lot can also happen in the Champions League, and we [Germany] are still involved in the European Championship qualifiers, where we need to score.

Ozil is pencilled in for a return against Stoke in the Premier League on 11th January at the Emirates where Arsenal will be looking to exorcise yet another ghost from a humiliating defeat.

By then the Gunners should also have Aaron Ramsey back in the side but it’s not yet clear if Mikel Arteta will be sufficiently recovered to join his teammates.

While the missing players on Thursday were not the reason that Arsenal lost to Southampton there is no denying that with Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta in the side they would have offered far more than we saw with Francis Coquelin and Calum Chambers playing.

That’s not to take away from the performances those two put in, but it’s not rocket science to say Arsenal would have been better placed to recover from their defensive howlers with more senior players in the squad.