Mesut Ozil's name has been on the lips of every Arsenal fan in January.After six months exiled from the club's 25-man squad for the Premier League, the rumour mill has been spinning around faster than ever as he looks to end his purgatory in north London.It's clear that attitude problems have festered behind the scenes under both Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta, not to mention that we haven't truly seen Ozil's best form since the contract extension.

Arsenal exit imminent

It's certainly a bizarre situation that the highest-paid player at one of the Premier League's biggest clubs would be collecting dust on the sidelines - and it's most definitely not sustainable.

Therefore, reports linking Ozil with moves to either Fenerbache or DC United since the turn of the year have come as something of a relief for Gooners, albeit slightly tinged with sadness.

That's because many Arsenal fans don't have it in them to completely forget the good times which saw Ozil arguably establish himself as the finest player of the Emirates era - and who can blame them?

Fernandes and De Bruyne comparisons?

For all the off-the-pitch toxicity that has rumbled on in the post-Arsene Wenger epoch, there were astonishing moments of pure skill and raw ability that saw him light up the Premier League.

But for all the glittering performances that Ozil delivered during his early days in England, I think we can all agree that his finest ever form came under Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid.

And it's those stunning displays at the Bernabeu that have seen him compared to the Premier League's contemporary midfield generals this week: Bruno Fernandes and Kevin De Bruyne.

Ozil's Real majesty

They are, by all accounts, the dominant central performers in England's top-flight right now, just as Ozil was alongside players like David Silva and N'Golo Kante during the mid-2010s.

But try telling that to Twitter user @WelBeast who has shared a glorious video of Ozil's highlights with Los Blancos in a quest to disprove that Fernandes and De Bruyne are worthy of comparison.

And for those looking for even more footage of Ozil tearing up Spanish football - why wouldn't you? - we also recommend with viral video from YouTuber 'Nino Productions' down below:

Fernandes and De Bruyne comparisons

Now, as far as statistics are concerned, you'd probably be forgiven for giving De Bruyne and Fernandes the nod over Ozil given their astonishing goal and assist returns.

But sometimes, just comparing two or three players with your own eyes can be the real test in the beautiful game and few highlight reels will ever compare to Ozil's time with Real Madrid.

Arsenal fans might not have seen the majestic passes and crosses that Cristiano Ronaldo seemed to gobble up every week in Spain all of the time, but the glimpses were still special to witness.

So, yes, Ozil leaving Emirates Stadium seems like a no-brainer at this point, but that doesn't make it anymore sad that such a special bond has been severed in such a difficult way.