Hector Bellerin has said Arsenal are "very lucky" to have Mesut Ozil after the Germany playmaker orchestrated the 4-1 Europa League win over CSKA Moscow at the Emirates on Thursday.
Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette both scored twice as Arsenal put themselves in a commanding position in the tie, but Ozil received the majority of the plaudits as he delivered two assists and earned a penalty before half-time.
"Mesut is a player that is really hard to defend against for other teams and, when he finds that space in the midfield, he outplays everyone there," Bellerin told the official Arsenal website.
"We are very lucky to have him, of course."
Bellerin set up Arsenal's first goal when he picked out Ramsey with a low cross, and said that was something the pair had worked on in training.
"I spoke to Aaron and he always tells me about 'cutbacks, cutbacks, cutbacks' and finally we got one. I am happy that what works in training works in a game," he said.
Arsenal responded to a quick CSKA equaliser by going 4-1 up at half-time, missing chances to add to that lead after the break.
But Bellerin said the three-goal cushion should be enough to see Arsenal through.
"We gave away the free kick and they got the away goal and we knew that could complicate things, but we reacted to that goal and we are really happy with the score," he added.
"We wish we could have kept a clean sheet but now we can go to Russia with a positive mindset and knowing that, if we don't make any mistakes, we are in the next round.
"We knew that Moscow had to go on the attack and we should have scored a few more goals, I believe.
"In the second half we had loads of chances, but we are lucky that it is 4-1 because if the score was a bit tighter then we would have regretted missing those chances. But, with a three-goal lead going to Russia, we are happy."