Unai Emery has reminded Mesut Ozil he is just another player in his squad after Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to West Ham on Saturday.
The Gunners lacked creativity against their Premier League opponents as Emery omitted Ozil from the matchday squad in favour of teenager Eddie Nketiah.
When asked about his decision to leave 30-year-old Ozil out, the Arsenal boss said: “For me he is like another player.
“It’s one decision, when one player is coming or not coming.
“Sometimes he is helping us, at other moments he is not helping us because of his injury or because maybe the match is not for him.
“But he is a good player.”
The German playmaker, who pockets £350,000-a-week, has been in and out of Emery’s side this season.
The Daily Mail reports Emery wants Ozil to leave the club before the end of the January transfer window to free up funds to strengthen his squad.
This comes after the former Paris Saint-Germain chief revealed he could only make loan signings this month.
Arsenal reportedly have an agreement to sign Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez, but the La Liga champions are hesitant to let him go on loan as they want a guarantee from the Gunners to buy the player in the summer.
Ozil, Arsenal’s highest paid player, has not shown his true form under Emery due to injuries and illness.
Selling the ex-Real Madrid ace would allow Arsenal to sign some much-needed defensive reinforcements.
Arsenal lost Rob Holding to a season-ending knee injury last month, while Laurent Koscielny has only recently returned from a serious Achilles problem.
