Per Mertesacker feels there will be an opportunity for former Arsenal teammate Mesut Ozil to return to the German national team.

The 29-year-old called it quits on his international career, citing racism and discrimination over his Turkish roots as reasoning for his decision.

"Everything is possible," Mertesacker said. "I am curious as to how the DFB is going to approach the building of a new team.

"I never experienced racism or discrimination during my time, so I was surprised by Mesut's allegations and that they were so harsh.

"Mesut and I played together at Werder Bremen and Arsenal for so many years. There is no other player that I shared so much time with. We were important for each other.

"I'm sad about what happened. We had a special relationship, no matter how different we are."