Arsene Wenger believes Mesut Ozil will thrive at Arsenal - even if he can't always play in his favoured No 10 role.

The Germany international has had his critics since joining the Gunners last year and is still building up his fitness and form after winning the World Cup in the summer.

Ozil is one of an array of playmakers in the Arsenal squad - Santi Cazorla, Tomas Rosicky, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey are also comfortable in the No 10 role - and Wenger insists he can accommodate them all.

"[Ozil is] a confident boy. This guy has played for the German national team and won the World Cup playing wide"

"Of course," he said. "The main man is the one with the ball. The others have to give him solutions to play. Every teams finds a way to go through its strong point. Subconsciously, a team will go through were its strong points are.

"[Ozil is] 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. You have all this debate and you have to think is this debate right or wrong?

"Zidane went to Real Madrid for £82 million and he played on the left. He’s not quicker than you and me! There was never a debate and he had to play there, because in the middle they had Raul and Ronaldo and he made room and played on the left. When you have the ball you play where you want and go where you want.

"It is a debate as old as the world. Since we played football. When you look at the Brazil team in 1970 they had Tostao, Rivelino, Pele, Jairzinho, Gerson, Clodoaldo. They played all No 10 in their club. They didn’t know what to do. They put them all together and they won the World Cup in a convincing way.

"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."