Joachim Low Backs Ozil to Come Good for Arsenal

Germany manager Joachim Low has backed Mesut Ozil to put his failures behind and come back strongly in the final few games of the season as the Gunners look to put in a concerted effort for the title.

The German had to endure a lot of criticism in his first year in the Premier League after completing a record £42.5m deal from Real Madrid. The midfielder has notched up eight assists this season but has failed to make a definite mark in the league.

However, his performance came under further scrutiny when he failed to convert a penalty against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the round of 16 tie against Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners, who were doing a brilliant job till the miss, lost momentum and gave Bayern the initiative, who grew into the game and forced a penalty which saw Wojciech Szczesny being sent off. The 11-man Bayern tore open the Arsenal defence in the second half and won the game 2-0, ostensibly sealing the tie in their favour.

However, Low, who oversaw Ozil being crowned the German Player of the Year last season, believes that the former Real Madrid player will overcome his shortcomings and come back a stronger man to help Arsenal in their title challenge and see Germany through to their first World Cup triumph in over two decades.

"I'm counting on Mesut (for the World Cup), because I know that he wants success in tournaments: he's shown that in the past. If you're playing at Real Madrid or Arsenal, you have to live with criticism when it isn't going well. Mesut can do that very well indeed," Low said.

The manager is not short of options in midfield should he choose to give Ozil a break, with the likes of Mario Gotze and Julian Draxler ready to step up to the task. However, his real problems lie in the striker position where they are struggling for alternatives to Mario Gomez, who has had an injury laden season thus far.