Mesut Ozil was in buoyant mood on Arsenal's tour of Singapore, and has insisted that his team-mates must continue to prove themselves.
Arsenal's World Cup winner had an impressive second half of the season in 2014/15 and will be looking to pick up where he left off, the creative attacking midfielder was instrumental in Arsenal retaining their FA Cup as well as sealing an encouraging third placed finish in the Premier League.
A big season beckons for Arsenal's play maker
Arsene Wenger has admitted this will be a "big season" for the German, who enters his third season at the Emirates as he looks to continue his progress.
The expectation on the German's shoulders is not lost on him and he expressed desire to continue to make a contribution to the team this season, “I know that I have a lot more potential to show but if you look at the last two years, we’ve been successful and have won the FA Cup twice,”
The play maker also stated that he does "want to help the team" as much as he can and that ultimately Arsenal "have a strong team that can win everything".
He also mentioned that the club's aim is "to be more successful this season than we were in the last.”
This will be the first time he will have a full pre-season at the club, and early indications would suggest he is taking full advantage. “I’ve noticed myself that the training sessions we’ve had here are helping me to become fitter,” he added. “I want to get through pre-season without any injury and then we can see."
He stated that he knows exactly how he can use his body and that he is "looking forward to the new season and to our [Arsenal's] new challenge" despite that fact the players only had three weeks holiday, which Ozil sights as "too short".
Why does Ozil still receive criticism?
Since his arrival from Real Madrid in 2013 for £42 million, he has taken some unfair criticism, much of this is down to his languid playing style. The 26-year-old only managed 22 league appearances last season but managed four goals, five assists and created a staggering 70 chances. He has never had a coach complain about his application in training or on any given matchday and he has worked with Jose Mourinho, Joachim Low and Arsene Wenger, who are arguably the biggest in the modern game.