Ray Parlour: Mesut Ozil Deserves Time to Turn Around Arsenal Form

Arsenal have been urged to show patience with Mesut Ozil despite the Germany international's troubling form leading to reports linking him with a move to Bayern Munich.

Ozil scored three goals and made four assists in his first seven matches in an impressive start to life in north London following his club record £42.4m move from Real Madrid last summer.

However, the 25-year-old's form has suffered since the turn of the year, with just one league goal coming in 2014.

Following another poor display in the 2-2 draw with Premier League champions Manchester City, reports linked Ozil with a January move to Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich – despite the club's fans displaying a homophobic banner last season that included an animation of the German midfielder.

But ex-Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has urged manager Arsene Wenger to keep faith with Ozil and reject any interest in his services.

"He's not been top class at the moment but you've got to give him a little bit of time," Parlour told talkSPORT.

"I'm not sure how much time you give him, though. Certainly he's got a lot of competition behind him, people like [Santi] Cazorla, [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain and [Mikel] Arteta – lots and lots of midfielders on that bench.

"I just hope he can find that bit of form, get that goal and confidence, and get back to the player he was. It is tough sometimes when people come to a different league and don't settle that quick."

The draw with City again exposed Ozil's deficiencies, with a series of missplaced passes defining his troubles in an Arsenal midfielder in which competition for places is as fierce as ever.

But Wenger has continued to back Ozil and insists his current display does not indicate a drop in form.

"People always have this kind of attitude about him," Wenger said. "He worked hard against City and he played quite well.

"You see a good Ozil when you watch the game again. Then you realise his timing, his quality of the pass and something you can be frustrated during the game but you must not overreact.

"When you watch the game in a cool manner, you see what a good player he is. I have so many offensive players. I give him freedom to play outside and inside and he likes that.

"It is not easy but Ozil is a team player and he takes it very well."