Mesut Ozil has been urged by Per Mertesacker to get fit in order to work his way back into Unai Emery’s good books at Arsenal.
The German has been struggling with illness to start the season.
Emery looked set to pick a front three of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe for the foreseeable future, which could have complicated Ozil’s involvement in the starting line-up.
But with Lacazette now injured for several weeks, Ozil could be given more opportunities once fit and Mertesacker believes Ozil must intensify his training to prove his worth to Emery.
“I hope Mesut can get fit. Unai requires a certain fitness level,” said the German.
“Unai is fair to everyone. You need to deliver a certain fitness level – then you are available to play.
“Unai tries to get through to him. He talks to him. He says: ‘You need to train to a certain level every day – I need you to be fit – otherwise you are not going to play.’
“That’s what I’ve seen. He puts him in the squad but then leaves him on the bench. If he trains to the level that’s required, he can play.
“Personally, I’m in favour of that. When Mesut is fit, he is one of our best players. He needs to be in there. We need to build the team around him and make him stronger.”
