Muller: No winter break's made life difficult for OziL

Bayern Munich attacker Thomas Muller believes the lack of a winter break has made life difficult for Mesut Ozil at Arsenal.

Following his €50 million arrival from Real Madrid last summer, the Germany international has struggled to find consistent form and was rested by Arsene Wenger in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Sunderland.

Ozil issued an apology following Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich, a game in which he missed a penalty and was subdued throughout, and Muller admits his countryman may find it difficult to mentally recover from his busy fixture schedule ahead of the World Cup.

“It’s very hard to be a professional footballer in England,” Muller is quoted as saying by the Mirror on Sunday.

“You have many more games than we do in Germany and no break in the winter.

“Normally the body can regenerate by the time of a tournament but the mental thing is harder to recover from.

“It’s not easy for Mesut but I know how good he can be and I hope he has many good games for Arsenal.”