Arsenal news: ‘Unai Emery has expressed to Mesut Ozil it might be better to leave’

Arsenal news: Unai Emery has reportedly suggested to Mesut Ozil it is best for him to leave (Image: Getty)

That is according to BBC Sport journalist David Ornstein.

Ozil has fallen by the wayside since Emery arrived in the summer, losing his position as a guaranteed starter.

The maverick playmaker has ostensibly not dovetailed with his Spanish coach’s high-octane style.

The frosty relationship is a far cry from Ozil’s connection with former manager Arsene Wenger, who approved an improved three-and-a-half year deal last February which pockets the 30-year-old £350,000 a week.

With 28 months remaining on that lucrative contract, concerns are growing from the Arsenal board as Ozil becomes an increasingly maligned figure in north London.

And Ornstein, who regularly obtains Gunners scoops, broke down the situation on the Arseblog podcast.

"In the build-up to [Ozil signing his improved contract extension], there were people inside the club who didn’t want to be given that contract,” the journalist said.

"I think there are some within the club who do not feel that he is producing what is required of him and would prefer him to have not been given a contract at all.

Arsenal news: Unai Emery has given Mesut Ozil chances to adapt to his style this season (Image: Getty)

"And there were some who felt that if you’re going to give him a new contract, then it should be nowhere the money that Arsenal ended up agreeing to, by which point Ozil had a strong hand in the negotiations because Alexis Sanchez was on his way out of the club.

"It would have been a pretty tough time for Arsenal if they were going to be losing both of them in the space of a few months.

"There was very little interest in clubs buying him at that point, but losing him on a free would have been potentially embarrassing for Arsenal.

"So there were some who were disgruntled with the decision to award him a contract, that [specific] contract - take it whatever way you like.”

Arsenal news: 11 players have got more league minutes than Mesut Ozil this season (Image: Getty)

Coming into this campaign, Emery had every intention of making Ozil a star player in his project, but it has not materialised.

"They were hoping that by handing him the captain’s armband as part of a group of captains, handing him the No 10 shirt, and putting an arm round him after what happened with Germany at the World Cup, that they were going to have a really productive season out of him,” Ornstein added.

"But clearly there have been troubles settling in to the new way of playing under Unai Emery.

"I have been told that Emery has expressed to Ozil that it might be better for him to leave.

Arsenal news: Unai Emery has a very demanding style of play (Image: Getty)

"What we don’t know is whether that was the feeling of Emery, the feeling of the hierarchy, or whether it was the feeling of both of them.

"I suspect it was probably the feeling of both of them. However, if one party felt it more than the other, I would suspect it was the hierarchy.

"Ozil’s view was ‘I’m not leaving, certainly not in the January transfer window’ and obviously everybody will see what happens in the summer.”