Arsenal: Mesut Ozil raises Champions League hopes by pledging to give his best against Olympiacos

Mesut Ozil believes that Arsenal have a fighting chance of making it to the knockout stages of the Champions League with him putting in a solid performance like he has in the league. The north London club have to match or better Olympiacos's score of 3-2 at the Emirates, and failure to do so would relegate them to a place in the Europa League.

The German has been the main orchestrator in the Arsenal midfield this season, assisting 12 in 14 appearances. Ozil is the only midfielder who has not sustained a long-term injury in the Gunners's midfield this season, something Arsene Wenger will be hoping continues till the end of the campaign. Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta are out for a considerable period of time and it is Ozil's mastery in midfield that can open up opposition defences amid the injury crisis.

The former Real Madrid man insists that he is in the form of his life, which is evident from his tally of assists, which is the best in Europe's top five leagues put together. His first two seasons failed to generate much hype, as he struggled with injuries and tried to cope with the demands of the Premier League. But now Ozil is looking to steer Arsenal into the knockout stages. He strengthened that notion by picking up yet another assist against Sunderland, assisting Joel Campbell to score the opener against the Black Cats.

"This season is the strongest season I have ever played," said the World cup winner, as quoted by the Mirror. "I am in a good way, playing really well. I believe in myself."

"It will be very hard," Ozil added on Arsenal's chances in the Champions League. "Olympiacos can play good football - we saw that in the first match. They want to play on the counter-attack but we can't concede goals like we did again.

"The fans will be right behind them and our goal is to beat them. It is achievable to go there and win by two goals. We really have to give everything so that we can achieve this and get through to the next round. We have the quality to beat them and our goal is not to even think about going out of the competition."