Mesut Ozil named Germany's Player of the Year for 2016

OZIL

Arsenal ace Mesut Ozil has scooped the prestigious Germany Footballer of the Year award for the fifth time in his career.

The award is voted for by fans, who collectively determine the man they believe has been the country's finest performing footballer over 12 months.

The 28-year-old claimed 54.5 per cent of the 316,850 votes to win the award, while Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos came in second place with 33.9 per cent.

Cologne defender Jonas Hector came in at fourth with just four per cent.

Getting his hands on the award is nothing new for Ozil, who has only once missed out on the honour in the last five years.

Speaking to the official website of German football after winning the award, Ozil said: 'I've changed a few things in my life this past year, for example my diet and my training.

'That helps me to regenerate fast after games and it reduces the chance of getting injured. And obviously you can’t lose the love for the game. But that’s not going to be the case for me!’

The 28-year-old has also been spending his spare time in rather peculiar fashion, posting an image online this week showing himself handling a cobra.

Ozil shared the snap with his 10.5million followers on Instagram, captioning the image: 'For all the cobra lovers out there #dayoff #cobracharmer'

Arsenal fans meanwhile will be hoping their star man soon puts pen to paper on a new deal with the club.

The Gunners are in talks with both Ozil and fellow key man Alexis Sanchez, though extensions for either of the two players are yet to be announced.