Mesut Ozil Comments on Arsenal Form and Olympiakos Champions League Showdown

Arsenal ace Mesut Ozil says he's enjoying the "strongest season" of his career to date and insists the Gunners refuse to even contemplate a Champions League exit ahead of their group-stage showdown with Olympiakos.

The Germany international had a man-of-the-match-worthy performance in Saturday's 3-1 win over Sunderland, where he bagged his 12th assist of the season. Per Goal's Jamie Smith, Ozil acknowledged 2015-16 as his best campaign ever:

"This season is the strongest season I have ever played. I am in a good way, playing really well. I believe in myself."

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

Arsene Wenger's leading puppeteer has stood out as arguably Arsenal's best player this season, recapturing the playmaking consistency that once made him such a valued asset at Real Madrid.

Ozil's exploits this season are etching his place in Gunners folklore, and he's well on his way to eclipsing the assist record of former Arsenal talisman Cesc Fabregas, per the official Premier League Twitter account:

According to Transfermarkt, Ozil's most prolific seasons in terms of assists made came at Real Madrid in 2010-11 and 2011-12, where he assisted 28 and 29 goals, respectively.

However, the 27-year-old has a prime opportunity to surpass those figures this season considering he's already recorded a dozen assists before Christmas, with Fox Sports' Daniel Garb full of admiration for his creative talents:

It's been two-and-a-half years since Ozil made the £42.5 million move to the Emirates Stadium from Real. Owing to the fact Arsenal don't tend to go as far in competitions as Los Blancos, Ozil has played far fewer games than he became accustomed to at Real, but he's making superb use of his time on the pitch.

Ozil's achievements are perhaps even more incredible when one takes into account he's rarely had a fully fit Arsenal team around him, applying pressure on him to bring the best out of those around him.

He set up Joel Campbell for the opener against Sunderland on Saturday, an example of how Ozil can accentuate the talents of even those who don't find a regular place in Wenger's XI.

He'll once again have to work with a weakened lineup in Wednesday's crunch encounter against Olympiakos, and Ozil spoke confidently of Arsenal's chances of progressing in the tournament, per Smith's report:

"

Olympiacos can play good football - we saw that in the first match. They want to play on the counter-attack but we can't concede goals like we did again. We have to be good in defence. If they score a goal then we have to score three goals, although we know that we can score goals.

We know that we have a lot of quality up front. The aim is to go in ahead at half-time and then we will know everything is possible. If we score an early goal, I am confident we can win this game and go through. I hope I can help the team with a good performance on the night.

"

The Greek giants defeated Arsenal 3-2 when they met in north London back in September, a loss in which Ozil struggled to have an impact, but he'll be hoping his upturn in form produces a different result this time.

Arsenal currently sit third in Group F, three points behind Olympiakos, and they need to beat their Greek hosts by the same or a superior scoreline to that reverse defeat if they're to advance in the competition.

Ozil will have been as glad as any to see Theo Walcott make his return to fitness in Saturday's win, meaning he could have another target to take aim at alongside Olivier Giroud when his team travel to Athens.

The World Cup winner was always an essential cog at Real, but Ozil has risen to new levels of importance with Arsenal, and he bears a greater burden than most ahead of such a key clash.