Germany international Ozil has not played since October's defeat at Chelsea due to a knee injury picked up in that Stamford Bridge fixture.
The playmaker had struggled for form in the early stages of the Premier League season, having seen his pre-season preparations cut short by his involvement in Germany's triumphant World Cup campaign.
But Wenger believes a spell out of action has reignited the fire in Ozil's game, and he expects big things from the club's record signing with a return on Sunday against Stoke City a possibility.
"It's a frustrating season for him as he has not contributed yet," Wenger said. "It was not a convincing start. He played six games, scored one goal against Aston Villa.
"What we pay for today is our slow start of the season because in the first six games of the season we won two games but we dropped too many points.
"There is now an opportunity to come back into the team and contribute to the team. When you are a football player you want to play games.
"He is ready. What he is is hungry.
"They come back from the World Cup and when you come back having won the World Cup, even if I gave them the holiday they needed, the hunger is a bit artificial.
"You have to be frustrated from competition and slowly get back to realise how much you miss it to come back to normal. I had that before with former players.
"He worked extremely hard to come back. He really pushed himself to the limit of what you can absorb physically."
