Mesut Özil talks up Real Madrid as he refuses to rule out return to the Bernabeu

Okay Arsenal fans, not only is Mesut Özil yet to sign his new deal, he's now saying nice things about Real Madrid. Time to panic a bit.

Speaking to Marca (who else?), the German's appeared to be knocking any talk of a return to Madrid firmly on the head when asked if it was a possibility. "A return to Madrid? I am very happy to be playing for a big club like Arsenal, who have some amazing fans who show me a lot of affection," Özil explained. No problems here. "I am enjoying myself in London." Also good. But hang on a minute, there's more. "But you never know in football... We will see what happens." After refusing to rule out a move back to the Bernabeu, Özil speaks glowingly of the Spanish giants. "Madrid are a huge club and I played with some fantastic players there and the Madrid fans are very loyal and still cheer me on. Many of them keep sending me messages asking me to come back. I have nothing but fond memories of my time at Madrid. I had three great years there.” As if this wasn't enough to make Arsenal fans a little uncomfortable, Özil is also full pf praise for Zinedine Zidane, who became the club's manager last year. "Zidane used to be my idol. I always watched him play when I was a kid and I wanted to be like him. "We play in the same position and he was a point of reference growing up. I was very nervous when I first met him. "I think he is a great coach. He won the Champions League in his first season, it does not get any bigger than that. I am happy for him because he is a great person and I always believed in him as a coach." If he's not setting up a move back to Spain, perhaps this is Mesut's way of getting Arsenal to get a move on with that improved contract offer.