Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has hit out at criticism of Mesut Ozil from former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes.
Scholes questioned the work ethic of the Germany international, saying that he was "going through the motions" in his recent displays for the Gunners.
However, Wenger has insisted that the 26-year-old puts maximum effort into all his endeavours with his side, and is optimistic that he can improve with more playing time in the Premier League.
He told reporters: "I think a player like Paul Scholes would have loved to play with Mesut Ozil. Having said that, I believe about Ozil it's a wrong statement [from Scholes]. He works very hard and he's a great player.
"He has something to prove and he knows that. We are all in a job where in every single game we have to prove a point. I believe he has the quality, he puts a lot of effort in to help the team and he works much harder than his style shows.
"You can be cheated a little bit by his style of play, because he is fluent, easy, subtle and he does not look like he puts the effort in, but he does. I knew he had a good physical potential, but did not know how good he was physically. He has a huge physical potential."
Ozil has made 19 appearances for the Gunners this season, scoring four goals.
Simon Sinclair
