Arsenal manager Unai Emery has revealed Mesut Ozil will return to the squad for the Premier League visit of Burnley and believes he still has a future at the Emirates Stadium.
Ozil did not make the substitutes bench for the Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat to rivals Tottenham in midweek and has been on the fringes of the team in recent times.
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He missed four recent games with a back problem but has started just once since November 11 – and that was a Europa League dead rubber at home to Qarabag.
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The 30-year-old was a mainstay in the Gunners side under previous manager Arsene Wenger but Emery has shown he has no issue with keeping the club’s highest-paid player on the sidelines.
Asked if Ozil will be in the squad to face Burnley, Emery said: “Yes. I want every player with a good mentality to help us and give us their characteristics and quality. We need Mesut Ozil.
“Every player wants to play and be okay to help the team when we need. The frustration is the same for everybody when they didn’t play in a match.
“But I spoke with him and with regularity in the season, I am telling him what we need from him and he has the commitment to help us and the quality and the characteristics to help us when the team needs his moments in the pitch in one game. Tomorrow he is in the 18 players, in the squad.”
Arsenal vs Burnley kick-off time
The Premier League clash kicks off at 12.30pm GMT today.
Arsenal vs Burnley TV channel
Live coverage of the match will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event.
Arsenal vs Burnley live stream
Existing customers will also be able to live stream the action via the Sky Go app, which can be downloaded across a host of devices.
If you don’t have a subscription but still wish to tune in, fans can purchase a Sky Sports pass through NOW TV.