The club-record signing says that he is not shocked by the way in which English media outlets change their opinions from week to week and expected a difficult transition period

Arsenal’s record signing, Mesut Ozil, has shrugged off criticism of his recent displays for the Gunners, claiming that he does not care what is written about him.

The German has scored five times and collected 11 assists in his 33 appearances for the north Londoners since joining from Real Madrid in the summer.

Yet a mid-season slump saw his contribution questioned before he flopped badly against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash, missing a penalty and fading in the 2-0 loss.

However, Ozil told Sport Bild that such stern criticism does not affect him, declaring: “I don’t care. They wrote something different three weeks ago and they will do it again in another three weeks. That’s part of the business in England.

“Almost every new player needs time to adjust in the Premier League. That’s also what Jens Lehmann said recently. The challenges here are completely different.

“It was obvious that I would fall into a sort of limbo because I missed the whole pre-season. There were also times where I was not satisfied with my performances but I overcame this now.”

Ozil has been restored to the Gunners’ squad after a brief rest, with manager Arsene Wenger now expecting fans to see him refreshed.