Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called on fans to be "patient" with Mesut Ozil after the German midfielder faced fresh criticism following the Gunners' Champions League outing on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old has struggled to make a significant impact at the Emirates since joining the club from Real Madrid last year for a reported £42.5m fee.

After Arsenal's 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in their opening Champions League group game, ex-German international Michael Ballack claimed that Ozil made a mistake leaving Madrid for Arsenal.

In this morning's press conference, Wenger said: "Fans need to be patient. You want your best players in every game but you have to be united and go through hard periods.

"Why should Ozil be a scapegoat? We've lost one game since April 1. We had very difficult games against teams like Besiktas. Everybody judges players on one game but football is played with many ups and downs."

Tomorrow, Arsenal will take on Aston Villa on away turf in the Premier League.