The final year of Mesut Ozil's time at Arsenal was nothing short of a nightmare. 

The playmaker spent the last 10 months of his spell in north London out in the cold and was left out of the Gunners' 2020/21 Premier League and Europa League squads. 

January finally saw him move to Fenerbahce, his boyhood club, with the Gunners keen to get him off the books.

While on paper, it was a dream move for the World Cup winner, it was never going to be easy. 

As former Fenerbahce and Turkey striker Ridvan Dilmen pointed out this weekend, Ozil is still adapting after playing very little football over the past year.

"I did not expect Mesut Ozil to do so much. It is not easy," said Dilmen, via the Mirror.

"You play football for the first time after 10 months. A team was not built around Mesut, Mesut came to this team.

"I think the next season will be much better because his contract will be three-and-a-half years. Despite this, I respect his devotion."

Unfortunately, the former Germany international's arrival has coincided - though not caused - a dip in form for Fenerbahce.

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Their most recent outing saw them lose 1-0 at home to mid-table Goztepe. They've slipped to third in the title race after recently losing to Galatasaray and they sit three points behind their rivals. 

Besiktas are also ahead of them on goal difference. 

Ozil has played in five games but is yet to score or create a goal.

To make matters worse, Fenerbahce were also knocked out of the Turkish Cup by Istanbul Basaksehir a fortnight ago. 

There is plenty of time for the 32-year-old to turn things around when he returns to full match sharpness. 

His new side are still well in the title race, even if they have lost ground in recent weeks, so it's conceivable that Ozil could play a starring role yet. 

The danger is whether he has lost his dynamism through such a long spell on the sidelines under Mikel Arteta.