Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 10y

Mesut Ozil: I will return even stronger

Mesut Ozil says he will come back even stronger for Arsenal when he returns from the hamstring injury suffered against Bayern Munich.#INSERT
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caption:Mesut Ozil's recent drop in form has drawn criticism from Arsenal fans and pundits alike.
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• Mangan: Gunners injury crisis
• Cross: Munich a platform

Ozil, 25, had another disappointing evening during the second leg of the Champions League round-of-16 tie against Pep Guardiola’s men.

The most expensive German footballer of all time was nowhere to be seen during the first 45 minutes in the 1-1 draw -- a result which ended Arsenal's Champions League campaign -- and was substituted at half-time for Tomas Rosicky.

It was later revealed that Ozil suffered a hamstring injury early on in the match, but that did not prevent sections of the press from criticising the former Real Madrid man, whose drop in form has been heavily discussed over the past few weeks.

"Now it's clear. During the Champions League match against Bayern, I suffered a muscle injury in the second minute," Ozil wrote on Facebook on Thursday.

"I tried to give my best and played until the end of the first half. Rest assured that I'll be back even stronger!"

In the next couple of months, Ozil still has a chance to turn what is becoming a mediocre debut season. The playmaker is set to miss a few weeks of action, with reports suggesting a layoff of anything from three to six weeks is realistic.

"He is out. I don't know for how long but it is a hamstring injury. There are scans going on," Gunners manager Arsene Wenger said on Thursday.

However, Ozil could return for the last couple of games of the season, in which Arsenal could win their first title since 2005.

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Post by Mesut Özil.

 

The Gunners are also in a strong position for a 17th consecutive appearance in Champions League next season, and are still within a shot of the Premier League title, trailing leaders Chelsea by seven points with a game in hand.

Ozil then will join the Germany team for the World Cup in Brazil, and will have to fight for his place in Joachim Loew's starting lineup.

The Germany boss had been in the stands during the Champions League match on Tuesday, and, in a general statement for the public, on Thursday reiterated that he is closely monitoring every single candidate for his World Cup squad.

"How can we make use of every day so that individual players, who might have been injured or have been in a crisis can get better until the World Cup?" Die Welt reports Loew as telling dpa, not only referring to Ozil, but also to the likes of Marco Reus, Julian Draxler and Seria A attackers Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose.

"Whoever still carries a lot of weight now or does not act professional, must be aware of that and bear the consequences," Loew said.

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