Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has spoken of his delight at playing again following his injury layoff.

The German international had been sidelined for the past three months with a knee ligament injury, but he came off the bench late on as the Gunners eased to a 3-0 victory over Stoke City on Sunday.

"I am thrilled to bits. It feels great to be back on the pitch after such a long time on the sidelines," The Mirror quotes him as saying. "I worked hard for this moment. As I watched the matches on TV I started to get nervous, because I really wanted to play again.

"I am happy, that I could play a couple of minutes. Of course I am not at 100%, I only trained with the team once on Saturday, but I hope that I will be back at 100% at the end of January.

"I am just satisfied to be back on the pitch again and that I can kick the ball with my team-mates. I missed that so much. The match against Stoke was perfect. We dominated and we got the three points so that makes me even happier."

Ozil has scored once for the Gunners in seven league appearances this season.