Arsenal outcast Mesut Ozil would've benefited from playing alongside Thomas Partey according to former Gunner Paul Merson.
The Ghanaian has already proved to be a big hit at the Emirates following his summer move from Atletico Madrid.
Partey has been likened to Gunners legend Patrick Vieira who left the north Londoners 15 years ago.
His intense style perfectly suits the philosophy Mikel Arteta is looking to implement, but it has seen Ozil marginalised.
Merson though feels as if a midfield including Partey and the German would have allowed Ozil to flourish.
“They’ve got that player now. Before you looked and you thought ‘not good enough in midfield’,” former Arsenal playmaker Merson told Sky Sports .
“You’ve got [Granit] Xhaka and whoever it might be playing with him. They haven’t got that pass, and they play deep, and it’s just workmanlike.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him. When they said Partey looks like he’s going to Arsenal for £45m, I thought ‘am I missing a trick here?’
“He could play for anyone, I look at Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool.
“I can't speak highly enough of him, it's an absolute steal for Arsenal.
“It's a shame that [Mesut] Ozil can't play because I think he opens up the space for Ozil.”
Ozil was left out of Arsenal's Premier League squad having not featured towards the latter end of last season.
Arteta has preferred to play the likes of Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny in the middle of the pitch with no room for a conventional playmaker.
The Spaniard though insists that he gave Ozil plenty of opportunities to prove his worth at the Emirates.
He said: “Mesut has had the opportunities like everyone else but I have to look at the daily input to the performance and what every player brings to the team.
“I am not going to hide behind the board or the owners.
"This decision is my responsibility and my conscience is very calm because I have been really fair with him."
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