Per Mertesacker has lept to the defence of Arsenal teammate Mesut Ozil and has insisted that his fellow German will peak in North London this season.
The 26-year-old has divided opinion among the Gunners' fans since his club-record £42.5m move to the Emirates Stadium from Real Madrid two years ago.
Along with being received poorly by the English media, Ozil was also eviscerated by German publication Bild last season following Arsenal's 2-0 defeat away to Borussia Dortmund.
Due to a shortage of Premier League coverage in Germany, Mertesacker believes that any criticism levelled at the playmaker from his homeland is bound to be unfounded.
"As part of the media world, you know how the coverage works," he told Transfermarkt during an interview.
"In Germany there are often only small parts of our games aired on TV or the opinions of English journalists are simply accepted.
"Mesut is a key player for us. That he was in the last season and it will be also in the coming."
The North Londoners kick off their Premier League campaign by hosting West Ham United on Sunday.
Shane Callaghan
