Former Liverpool defender Phil Babb has ruled out Mesut Ozil having any part to play in the Mikel Arteta era at Arsenal after claiming the Premier League has left the German playmaker behind.
The 31-year-old is linked with a move to the Turkish Super Lig ahead of every transfer window but he appears to be increasingly isolated in north London.
Under Unai Emery, the midfielder often found himself left out of the team while his tweet in support of Uyghur Muslims in China saw the Gunners take the extraordinary step of releasing a statement to distance themselves from their own player.
When he has made it on to the pitch however he has not always been able to justify his selection and reacted poorly when he was substituted in the 3-0 loss to Manchester City that triggered the move to approach Arteta.
After three years spent working under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, the Spaniard is expected to modernise Arsenal's tactics and training to lay the foundations for quality football and a return to the top four.
This year, City have so far found themselves outmatched by Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool after a breathtaking title race last season that saw the two clubs go toe-to-toe playing with a great deal of intensity and tactical sophistication.
It is those two qualities that the Gunners were hoping Emery could bring to the table as Arsene Wenger's successor but he failed to secure results or show signs that he was developing a forward-thinking style of play.
However, Arteta's reforms are more likely to exclude than include Ozil according to Babb.
"Nothing personal, Mesut Ozil," he said on Sky Sports' The Debate programme.
"I think this guy is so marmite, you love him or hate him, but it baffles me how Arsenal in the first place gave him that contract, that sum of money, for the output that he gives.
"You're looking at your poster boy to deliver week in, week out, and he doesn't. That's not his fault. Emery really messed him about and I don't see any improvement. He got man of the match the other week but I watched him [against Manchester City] and he was abject."
For Babb, the Ozil situation may not be salvageable given how the Premier League have developed to leave him looking off the pace.
"He's the guy who is supposed to be leading that team and I think the Premier League has bypassed him," he added.
"Every year the Premier League gets faster and more physical and he plays at his pace and always will do, and it's elegant.
"It's nice and it's pretty but he's that luxury item. You don't see the top teams now carry anyone and Arsenal have carried Ozil for far too long."
