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Arsenal legend Paul Merson has advised Mikel Arteta to apologize to Mesut Ozil and add him to the Gunners squad in January. The German international has not featured for the Premier League side so far after falling out with the Spaniard at the tail end of last season.
Arteta left Ozil out of the Premier League as well as the UEFA Europa League squads of this season. However, that decision quickly backfired as Arsenal struggled for creativity on the pitch. The Gunners are currently 15th in the Premier League table after 11 games, and the optimism of last season has slowly withered away this year.
Merson, however, thinks it's not too late to turn Arsenal’s season around and believes that the first step should be the Ozil's return to the team.
Arsenal missing a trick without Ozil, says Merson
Merson believes that the Gunners are faltering in front of goal and Ozil is the answer to their woes.
"Arsenal could still be playing Tottenham NOW and they wouldn’t have scored a goal. What can they do in January to fix it? Go and knock on Mesut Ozil’s door, say you’re sorry and you need him to play! Arsenal were atrocious against Spurs. They never looked like scoring. Ozil’s getting £350,000-a-week and sitting at home while his team can’t score," he said.
The Arsenal legend did agree that Arteta needs to use the German international against teams that allow them possession.
"I’m not saying play him against Manchester City or Liverpool, when you’re not going to see much of the ball. But against teams like Spurs or Burnley, he can get on the ball and dictate things and make a few decent chances," Merson said.
Merson pointed out that the Gunners could register him into the squad in January:
"They could re-register him in January. They’re missing a trick if they don’t."
The Arsenal legend also expressed disappointment at the performance of his former team, and predicted the outcome of their next game against Burnley.
"I just don’t know where Arsenal are going right now. The manager was talking after the Spurs game as if they’d played well. I hope he doesn’t actually believe that!" Merson said.
"You would still expect them to beat Burnley. It’s a nice game for them. Burnley don’t have the pace on the counter to hurt Arsenal, and they don’t score many goals. Arsenal should beat them. But it will only be papering over the cracks if they do," he added.
