Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs believes that new signing Mesut Ozil can be their new Dennis Bergkamp if he can live up to his expectations and pedigree following his record £42m transfer from Real Madrid. The 24-year-old is yet to feature for the Gunners but is likely to make the squad on their trip to Sunderland on 14 September after the Premier league resumes following the international break.

Mesut Ozil
Reuters

"I'm very excited, when a world-class player comes in and joins you've got to be excited. I'm sure he'll settle in quickly because we've got Lukas [Podolski] and Per [Mertesacker] with him to get him settled so it shouldn't take him too long. I'm really looking forward to working with him. He's got a clinical side to him and technically he's world-class. He's going to create a lot of problems for opposition we come up against and hopefully he can continue the form that he had with Real Madrid," Gibbs told www.arsenal.com.

Ozil's arrival has led to a lot of optimism among Arsenal fans and players alike and is likely to boost the Gunners ahead of a crucial period in their season. Arsenal will travel to Marseille following their game against Sunderland and have the third round of the Capital One Cup against West Bromwich Albion scheduled in the following week. The Gunners are currently stricken with injuries, with the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mikel Arteta, Lukas Podolski, Thomas Vermaelen and Abou Diaby all unavailable for the next few games. However, Gibbs believes that Ozil's arrival will help take them to the next level and end their eight season drought by winning trophies

"He'll still have work to do to match Dennis Bergkamp and what he's done for the Club. But he's a world-class player and he looks very determined to come and help the team out. It's a statement to what the Club want to do and what the Club want to achieve. It's something that everyone's been waiting for so now we have a big signing to help push us to the next level," he added.

Arsenal have embarked on a good run of form following their 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa at home, winning their next four games in all competitions including a 5-0 win in aggregate over Fenerbahce and a 1-0 win over their free-spending arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates.