John Barnes has questioned the commitment of Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, likening his current situation to that of Mesut Ozil.
The Gabon forward - who turned 31 on Thursday - is entering the final year of his contract and has been heavily linked with a move away from north London amid interest from Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
Aubameyang last week revealed his desire to win trophies, but failed to put in a positive performance in a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City after manager Mikel Arteta encouraged him to show why he should stay at the club.
Meanwhile, Ozil - who experienced a significant increase in game-time following Arteta's arrival - was out of the matchday squad altogether.
And Barnes, speaking to BonusCodeBets, believes Arsenal must quickly gauge just how committed Aubameyang is to the club.
“The only person who's worth that kind of money and being the highest paid player is a player who is 100% committed to the club," he said. "Not a player who, if things aren't going well, he wants to leave and then hold the club to ransom.
“First of all, the most important thing, regardless of money or contracts, is does he want to be at Arsenal?
"And then, if the club feel that he's fully committed, regardless of whether they're mid table or in the top one or two, then he is worth that. But that is a question mark.
“It was the same thing with Ozil. Had Ozil been that committed to Arsenal in terms of warranting that that salary? We know he has the ability, but it may not turn out that way. So, it's a question of Arsenal knowing or feeling that he's committed to the football club.”
