Arsenal: Arsene Wenger wants Mesut Ozil to 'find confidence' ahead of Bayern Munich clash

Arsene Wenger has cast doubts on Mesut Ozil's form ahead of Arsenal's trip to Germany to take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League after admitting that he is at a loss to explain the midfielder's lacklustre performances in recent weeks.

The 26-year-old has failed to replicate the form he showed in the first-half of the campaign in recent weeks and was chastised for his performances during Arsenal's recent back-to-back losses against Watford and Chelsea. The Gunners returned to winning ways against Hull City this weekend (11 February) but the Germany international struck a poor patch once again missing a host of chances.

Wenger is aware of Ozil's importance to the team, especially with the Bayern clash just around the corner and has urged the midfielder to get back to scoring goals – his last coming during the 3-1 win over Stoke City in December. The Frenchman pinpointed his lack of confidence as a possible reason for his poor showing against the Tigers.

"Maybe it's time for him to score a goal again. He needs to find confidence again. He misses chances that don't look unfeasible for him [to score]," Wenger said post the game against Marco Silva's side, as quoted by The Times.

"I felt he was not completely confident technically today. That's a problem because you think he can deliver something special. It's true that technically he did things today that he is not used to doing. I don't know. It can happen. I can't think of a specific reason. I had a chat with him yesterday [Friday]. He looked all right," the Frenchman added.

Arsenal take on Bayern in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 on Wednesday (15 February) and will be looking to progress to the next stage of the competition for the first time in five years. The north London club have been knocked out at the same stage by the same opponent in 2013 and 2014.