Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has paid tribute to the impact Mesut Ozil has made since joining the club.

The German international moved to the Gunners from Real Madrid last summer, and Wenger has said that he is held in high regard by his current teammates.

"He is very much appreciated by his teammates," Wenger told the official Arsenal matchday programme. "That's a real compliment you can get when you are a football player.

"For me it is a bit like [Zinedine] Zidane when he played for Madrid, all the other players said he was the best.

"You want first to be recognised by people who do the same job as you, and I think that is the biggest compliment that you can get. You would speak with everybody who plays in this team, they always rate him very highly."

Ozil started for Arsenal as they maintained their position at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Fulham this afternoon.