Unai Emery insists Mesut Ozil still has a future at Arsenal despite leaving the midfielder out of the Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Tottenham. Ozil watched from the stands as Arsenal lost 2-0 to their bitter rivals on Wednesday, amid speculation he could leave the club in January.
However, Emery insists Ozil remains part of his plans at the Emirates and confirmed the midfielder would be in the squad to face Burnley on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Premier League.When asked if Ozil would be included, Emery said: “Yes. I want every player with a good mentality to help us. He can give us his quality and his characteristics.
“We need Mesut Ozil.” “Every player wants to play and help the team when we need them. The frustration is the same for everybody when they haven’t played a match.
“I have told him what we need from him. He has the commitment to help us and the quality and the characteristics to help us when the team need him on the pitch.
“Tomorrow he is in the 18 players in the squad.”
Arsenal head into the match on the back of consecutive defeats to Southampton and Tottenham and Emery is desperate to return to winning ways against Burnley, as the Gunners look to cut the gap to the top four. Kolasinac is expected to return to fitness in time to face Burnley but Emery has suggested he would be happy to play Xhaka in defence again, if needed.