Arsenal transfer news: Unai Emery slammed for Mesut Ozil snub, one player ‘not even close’

That’s the verdict of Steve Nicol on ESPN FC.

Ozil is not favoured by Emery due to the physical demands of the Spanish coach’s style of play and has even been left out of the match-day squad altogether for recent matches.

The German was nowhere to be seen as the Gunners lost 1-0 to West Ham at the weekend, with Arsenal missing a lack of cutting edge in the final third.

But Emery has made it clear he will not pick Ozil for tough away matches despite the fact the World Cup winner is the club’s highest-paid player on £350,000-a-week and enjoyed almost untouchable status under Arsene Wenger.

The Arsenal boss has been denied a chance to make any moves in the January transfer window with the north London club short of money, meaning he can only complete loan deals.

Emery seemingly wants Ozil out of the club but given his astronomical wages, finding a club to take him off their hands will undoubtedly prove difficult – with any departure likely to need Arsenal to commit to subsidising his hefty salary.

Yet Liverpool legend Nicol is dumbfounded that Emery will not change his mind to fit Ozil – who has 30 goals and 51 assists in the Premier League since arriving from Real Madrid in 2013 – into his line-up.

And the ex-defender believes Emery’s current set-up means his midfield lacks players capable of delivering the final ball into their forwards – pinpointing Xhaka in particular as one such example.

“If at the end of the day Unai Emery wants to sweep the club, the board have to back him. I get all that,” Nicol said.

“But are you telling me that you can’t figure a way out to sort your team out when you’ve got a guy with the quality that Ozil’s got? 

“You can’t somehow figure out to get him in the team? 

“You’ve got a team full of players who work hard and will run for ever, where’s the quality? Where’s all the quality gone? 

“You look at the middle of the park, I mean Granit Xhaka, he can’t get around. 

“He’s not even close to the qualities of Mesut Ozil. 

“So you figure out your team and find a way of building it to get a guy with quality in.”

Former Arsenal striker Jeremy Aliadiere also believes the capital club are lacking the ingenuity of Ozil.

He told Love Sport Radio: “I think what he [Emery] is trying to do is give everyone their best positions and to try to help everyone.

“I know playing three at the back, you give [Hector] Bellerin and [Sead] Kolasinac less defensive worries and more offensive jobs to do.

“They obviously enjoy that but at the same time you miss having a No 10 and having Mesut Ozil in the team. It’s very difficult.

“In my opinion, obviously I would have Mesut Ozil in the team all day long.”

source: express.co.uk