text: Mesut Ozil is playing the best football since he joined Arsenal in the summer of 2013, after leading the Gunners to second in the Premier League table. Ozil was off the pace at the beginning of this season, but says he is now back to his best since returning to fitness in January. And the German star says his injury has actually helped him, claiming that it 'worked in my favour' after a busy schedule. Mesut Ozil trains ahead of Arsenal's FA Cup semi final against Reading on Saturday . The German star says he is now playing his best football since joining the Gunners in the summer of 2013 . Ozil said 10 years of playing football had taken their toll, but he has come to terms with the Premier League . Mesut Ozil is interviewed in this week's Sport . 'At the moment I am pleased with the consistency of my game,' Ozil told Sport magazine. 'I feel I am now playing my best football since joining Arsenal.' The playmaker was a big part of Germany's World Cup win over the summer, playing every game as Joachim Low's side lifted the trophy in Brazil, and the process took a lot out of him. 'I was exhausted at the start of the season,' he confesses. 'I started playing professional football at the age of 16 and had never really suffered many serious injuries. ' I guess 10 years of consistently playing football took its toll. I was also struggling with the physicality of this league.' However, Ozil has bounced back in the second half of this season, his excellent form coinciding with a winning run that has seen the Gunners climb the table. And the 26-year-old midfielder has attributed his success, in part, to the injury that kept him out for three months this winter. Ozil celebrates scoring a goal in the convincing win against Liverpool, when he was in excellent form . Ozil has put his improved performances down to the strength training he went through after being injured . 'The injury worked in my favour in a way, as it gave me time to recover, to assess and to work on what was required to compete in this league,' he added. 'The football here is far more physical, it is played at a faster tempo and you have to adapt to the sheer number of games. 'I have had to work a lot harder and adjust my game accordingly. I used my time out with injury to work on my strength. I'm continuing to do extra sessions after training now.' The World Cup winning midfielder is continuing to do extra strength sessions after Arsenal training . Ozil was a key player in Germany's World Cup win, and admits it took a lot out of him last summer .
target: Mesut Ozil missed three months because of injury this season .
  The German has returned in better form, and says injury helped him .
  Ozil worked on his strength, and still does extra sessions after training .