Arsene Wenger insists Mesut Ozil will return from his break a better player, whilst also claiming Arsenal's record signing may be putting too much pressure on himself, reports the Guardian.

Ozil has come under fire of late for a string of below par performances, which culminated in a tame penalty miss in the Champions League clash with Bayern Munich last week and leaving Arsenal as huge outsiders to progress in Sportsbook Review.

The former Real Madrid man has since been allowed to return to Germany for some time to recharge his batteries, and missed last weekend's 4-1 win over Sunderland.

But Wenger insists the German looked fresh in training upon his return, and is ready to help Arsenal try and claim their first league title since 2004.

The Gunners sit just a single point behind Chelsea going into the weekend's fixtures, and Ozil is set to be recalled to the first team.

"I never tell Mesut: 'You have to win us the game,'" Wenger said when discussing the pressure placed on the club's record £42.5million signing.

"He shouldn't do that. It's down to the performance of the team. But maybe he feels that a bit in a different way than I do. I just want him to enjoy it and play well.

"It is difficult for him mentally to be confronted with that pressure every three days and in every single competition. But he will adapt. He had a difficult game [against Bayern] because he missed that penalty and it was on his mind. Sometimes, when you are under this kind of pressure, it's good to refresh."

"Many clubs have two days off," he added.

"We played since the beginning of December, we don't have to justify why we have two days off. I don't see why that suddenly is a problem. It's unbelievable. We are in a society where everybody wants to control everything. It is unusual? We are entitled to do unusual things."