Four years have now passed since Arsenal stunned English football by securing the services of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid.The Gunners paid a club-record £42.5 million fee for the Germany international who, at the time, was widely regarded as one of the best - if not *the* best - number tens on the planet.Ozil was a popular member of the Madrid squad but decided to leave the Bernabeu after Los Blancos smashed the world transfer record to sign Gareth Bale from Tottenham.Madrid accepted Ozil’s decision, much to the annoyance of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.“The sale of Ozil is very bad news for me,” he was quoted as telling his Portugal teammate at the time, per the Independent. “He was the player who best knew my moves in front of goal... I'm angry about Özil leaving.”However, Ronaldo hasn’t fared too badly without the left-footed playmaker since then and neither have Real Madrid.

Ozil has faced heavy criticism at Arsenal

Ozil, on the other hand, has seen his reputation take something of a nosedive over the past four seasons.

The 28-year-old has come in for some pretty severe criticism at Arsenal - mainly due to his questionable work ethic - on numerous occasions.

He’s still regarded as a class act, with the ability to unlock any defence with a pass, but there’s no denying he has a tendency to go missing when Arsenal need him most.

Sir Alex Ferguson once nicknamed Ozil “The Ghost” because of his ability to drift between the lines without being noticed.

The only time he’s described as a ghost now is when he disappears during matches.

Are Arsenal and Wenger holding Ozil back?

Ozil has less than a year to run on his Arsenal contract and may feel, like Alexis Sanchez, that leaving the Emirates Stadium is in his best interests.

But is it a case of Arsenal and Arsene Wenger holding him back?

Well, you can understand why some people might think that’s the case after watching Ozil in action for Germany against the Czech Republic on Friday night.

It took the attacking midfielder just four minutes to make an impact, providing the assist for Timo Werner to break the deadlock.

The game finished 2-1 to Germany - Mats Hummels scoring the winner in the 88th minute - but there was one clip from the match that has stunned everyone, including Arsenal fans.

Watch: The moment Ozil stunned everyone

Mesut Ozil actually tracked back and we have the footage to prove it.

No, this has not been Photoshopped. What you’re about to witness really did happen…

Why didn’t he do that against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday?

Reaction to Ozil tracking back

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Ozil tracking back…

If Arsenal want Ozil to sign a new contract, perhaps they should announce Joachim Low as Wenger’s successor.