Mesut Ozil is 'a bit unhappy' with his current predicament at Arsenal, according to team-mate Sead Kolasinac, but has been backed to become a game-changer once he is fully integrated into Unai Emery's plans.
Ozil's name has never been far from the headlines in recent years, with a meeting with controversial Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan sparking a backlash from the German media and ultimately ending the playmaker's relationship with the country's national team.
At Arsenal, Ozil has gone from one of the first names on the team-sheet under Arsene Wenger to very much a bit-part player under Emery, with the Spanish boss even stating that the club's youngsters deserved to play ahead of him.
The 31-year-old has upped the intensity of his training in recent times after being left out of several matchday squads, however, and Emery's claims that he is warming to the midfielder, coupled with a fine showing in the 5-5 thriller against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup in midweek, has fans eagerly anticipating more.
Kolasinac admits that Ozil is rightly upset at not being selected, but feels that a man well known for his creativity will be back to his brilliant best soon and help the club push on to reach their goals.
“Mesut is a really driven player,” Kolasinac told Premier League Productions. “He is a bit unhappy at the minute but you would never see that in his training. He is doing everything he can. He is doing extra sessions to make sure he is at the level he needs to be.
“Mesut is Mesut. He has got a lot of special qualities.
“For example, the opposing team might put two players on him rather than one, which creates a lot of space for others. That makes a real difference on the pitch and in the game.
“Everyone knows the quality he has, we have seen it. He is one of the top players in Europe and I think he can achieve a lot and really help the team further when he’s back.”
Following Arsenal's penalty shoot-out loss at Anfield, manager Emery was positive in his assessment of Ozil, leading fans to believe the star may have hit a turning point as the club look ahead to a Premier League clash with Wolves on Saturday.
“He was very positive every time and I think he played a very good match,” Emery said. “We have a match on Saturday and we will look at the possibility to use him again alongside other players. This is the way sometimes.”