Arsene Wenger delighted fans when he smashed the club's transfer record to complete the signing of Ozil from Real Madrid for £42.4 million in September.
After a bright start to life in England the prized recruit had struggled for form before sustaining a hamstring injury in Arsenal's UEFA Champions League tie against title-holders Bayern Munich in March, and he is expected to be out of action until April.
Despite the ongoing criticism, Winterburn is convinced the Germany international will light up the Emirates Stadium once he adapts to the physicality of English football.
"It's physical, it's intense, it's quick, you play a lot of games in a short period of time," said Winterburn, who played over 400 games for Arsenal between 1987 and 2000.
"You get very little rest. He came in and made a huge impact. His form has dipped. That's something he's going to have to look at, they'll be working it out, working on making him physically stronger to deal with the rigours of playing in the league.
"Sometimes when you get a shove and a knock over, abroad you get a foul, but here it just gets waved away.
"We judge players over here very quickly, particularly if they come for a lot of money. We don't even look at the settling in period, there's no such thing if you're a big player.
"You've got to be playing very well all the time, we don't look at all the other issues that go on around a football club and particularly that player in trying to settle in to the club."
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