Paul Merson has begged Arsenal boss Unai Emery to play Mesut Ozil again – but says he knows he won’t.
Ozil has fallen out of favour under Arsenal boss Unai Emery, with the manager preferring the likes of loan signing Dani Ceballos and youngster Joe Willock.
Emery last week insisted that Ozil did not “deserve” to be in the starting line-up ahead of some of the club’s rising stars, and the midfielder’s Arsenal career now looks over.
Ozil has been linked with a loan move in January, with Arsenal reportedly prepared to pay some of the 30-year-old’s mammoth £350-a-week wages in order to offload him.
But Arsenal legend Merson reckons Emery should bring him back into the fold – to capitalise on their rivals’ poor form at the moment.
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Arsenal are currently third in the Premier League, while Tottenham and Manchester United are struggling in mid-table. Even second-placed Manchester City are stuttering at the moment.
And with five of the Gunners’ next seven games against teams in the bottom half of the table, Merson says Ozil can help Emery’s side take some big strides towards securing a top-four spot.
“He’s a luxury player, and the manager has obviously decided he can’t carry a player like that in a team that’s already one of the worst around without the ball,” former midfielder Merson wrote in his column for the Daily Star .
“With these games coming up, Arsenal are going to have 70% of the possession. He thrives in those situations.
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“Unai Emery should bring him in from the cold. But he won’t.
“If he plays Ozil and they win, he has to keep playing him, and the manager doesn’t want that. The manager wants him out.
“And if that’s the plan then they are going to have to swallow a pill and get rid of him in January come what may.”
Arsenal’s next game is away to Sheffield United a week on Monday, with Crystal Palace , Wolves , Leicester , Southampton , Norwich and Brighton their next opponents in the Premier League.
