Mesut Ozil: I'm so Happy at Arsenal

Arsenal club-record signing Mesut Ozil brushed off all the recent criticism aimed at him for his poor performances and revealed his happiness at playing for Arsenal.

The German international has come in for a lot of criticism from all quarters recently following a barren spell for the Gunners, but he hit back in perfect style with a virtuoso performance against Aston Villa on Saturday, where he scored one and set up Danny Welbeck's first goal for the club.

The former Real Madrid star, who had earlier said that he had nothing to prove following the criticism, has now revealed that it does not affect him as people who criticise him do not know what kind of people footballers are off the field. He feels that a person is not necessarily like they behave on the field. Ozil admits that they could be the opposite in real life.

"You can't forget that people don't know you away from football," Ozil told Arsenal's official site.

"You can't really see what a person is really like when they are on the pitch. Sometimes a player will come across as arrogant and another as being a nice guy when in reality it could be the other way round," he said.

The 25-year-old midfielder believes that whether you are a big star or a newcomer, all have to be treated the same and given the same respect. He claims that this kind of a camaraderie is existent among the current Arsenal squad and that is the reason he is very happy to be playing for the north London club.

"At the club you always have to be respectful towards one another. It doesn't matter if one player is a world star and the other is a newcomer. Everyone should be treated in the same way and that's why I'm so happy at Arsenal, because that's really the case here," the German international added.

"Everyone is treated the same way and has respect for one another. That's a big help on the route to reaching your targets - when you're like a family who make each other feel welcome and at home. That's how it is here," he said.