Arsenal ace says he’s ‘fit and ready’ for Fulham, would be first competitive game since March

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Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has responded to a fan who asked him on Twitter about his availability for the Gunners’ Premier League opener this weekend.

The 31-year-old has featured sporadically under Mikel Arteta and, after English football resumed in June, he did not play a single minute in the Premier League or FA Cup, a back injury cited as the issue.

It looked as though Ozil’s time at Arsenal was coming to an end, but with the new season on the horizon, he was a surprise starter in last Saturday’s 3-2 friendly defeat at home to Aston Villa.

A report in The Sun then suggested that Arteta is resigned to the prospect of Ozil seeing out his contract, which runs out next summer, and is looking at ways to keep him involved, such as using him in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3.

Admittedly, the Gunners boss did say last month that “everybody starts from zero” and that”everybody is going to have the same opportunities” this coming season, good news for the likes of Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi.

And while the 2014 World Cup winner did tell the Arsenal fan that he is fit and raring to go against Fulham on Saturday, for what would be his first competitive game since March, he stressed that team selection is not in his hands, signing off by saying “we will see”.

With newly-promoted Fulham one of the sides who could potentially look to shut up shop and stifle the Gunners, could Arteta opt for something different from his 3-4-3 and enable Ozil to show what he can do in the red and white shirt once again?