Arsene Wenger has reiterated his faith in Mesut Ozil, and played down suggestions that playing him from the left hand side is the cause of all his ills.

The German has struggled to find his best form this season, something the Arsenal manager believes is down the World Cup exploits, and said if he had to do it again he’d pay the same money for the Real Madrid man.

“I would pay the money again. Of course,” he said. “Zidane went to Real Madrid for £82m and he played on the left. There was never a debate and he had to play there.

“Because in the middle they had Raul and Ronaldo he made room and played on the left. When you have the ball you play where you want and go where you want.

“He’s a confident boy. This guy has played for the German national team and won the World Cup playing wide and nobody found a word to say.

“He has been criticised during the World Cup and still played well and he was always in every single team. He can be a top player.”

Wenger also touched on the fact he’s got many players who can play in that ‘number 10’ role with Wilshere, Cazorla and even Oxlade-Chamberlain as potential selections.

“What is Wilshere but basically a No 10? He played his whole life at No 10. Somebody had to go out there. Is it Wilshere, Ozil or Ramsey, nobody is really natural out wide. So you keep good players out or you try to get them together.

“It is ambitious, but without ambition you cannot progress. We have that desire to play well altogether and I think we can really achieve it. We can have a fantastic team.”

Let’s hope that Ozil can find the spark to his season tomorrow at Villa Park, whether he plays at number 10 or out wide.