Ray Parlour has said that Arsenal have a dilemma regarding Mesut Ozil’s situation at the club, with the playmaker seemingly out of favour under Unai Emery.
With his contract due to expire last summer, Arsenal moved heaven and earth to keep Ozil at the club, smashing their wage structure to make him the highest paid player in the clubs history, with the German picking up £350,000-a-week.
However, under Unai Emery, Ozil has been used sparsely, starting just 13 of the Gunners 26 Premier League games, scoring just three times and assisting one.
With the North London club having shelled out so much to keep the 30-year-old at the club, Arsenal legend Ray Parlour reckons Ozil could become a divisive figure in the dressing room.
“It’s been a little bit like PSG under Neymar,” Parlour said on talkSPORT. “Neymar ended up getting him (Emery) the sack.
“He lost the dressing room and Neymar was pulling the strings there. Maybe it could be the same at Arsenal.”
Asked if he thinks Ozil will end up leaving the Gunners, Parlour added:
“It looks like that could happen.
“I go back to the dilemma of what Arsenal have got. He’s on £350,000-a-week. Who is going to pay that sort of money?
“There’s got to be a time in your career, when you’re over 30 you know you’re on a slippery slope. You have to come to a decision.
“He could stick his heels in and sit out his contract, and say ‘play me when you want’. The players hold all the power.
“When you’re left out you want a reaction from the player – especially from training. Show the attitude you want to get back into the team somehow.
“I don’t know what he’s been like in training.”
