Özil hopes that his added upper body strength can help him handle the physicality of the Premier League. “I think he has taken to the fact that he wants to be stronger,” said Wenger. “You have more time to focus on it. Every day he is in the gym and he can work on it – he hasn’t had the fatigue of the games – and it is better when you look in the mirror! But it is not only down to pure strength when you play football. I know players like Claude Makélélé for instance were not monsters, but when he went for a challenge he had the technique to use his strength in a very efficient way. It is a technique more than a power. A guy who spends a bit of time in the gym kills his co-ordination and becomes more rigid. Winning a challenge is down to flexibility and co-ordination.”