Arsenal have to consider offloading Mesut Ozil because the costs of keeping him outweigh what he is currently offering to the club, says former forward Paul Mariner.
The World Cup-winning playmaker has seen just 71 minutes of action in the 2019-20 campaign.
There have been mitigating circumstances, with Ozil and Sead Kolasinac having been the subjects of an attempted car-jacking which raised serious concerns over their safety.
Unai Emery was, however, reluctant to use the German midfielder at times last season and does not appear to be in any rush to hand the 30-year-old a prominent role this term.
With that in mind, and with Ozil tied to a lucrative contract, Mariner believes a sale must come into the equation because it makes no sense to keep a fringe player at the Emirates on big money.
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The former Gunners striker told ESPN FC: “If there’s interest, let him go and have someone else pay his wages.
“[If he doesn’t go], you’ve got to get him back in the fold. It’s as simple as that. You’ve got to get in a room with him, talk to him, get him into being that Arsenal player [he can be].
“They can’t find anyone at the moment who wants to take him off their books, so you’ve got to get him back in your ranks.
“It’s very difficult, if a player isn’t switched on, it’s very difficult to get into him.
“At the present moment if he’s going to perform the way he is, you’ve got to find other players to perform instead of him.
“Find the players that are committed, and find a system that fits those players.”
Ozil’s only outing this season came in a Premier League clash with Watford.
He started that contest, but was hauled off as the Gunners threw away a two-goal lead to be held 2-2 at Vicarage Road.
No opportunity was presented to him to find full match sharpness during a Europa League group stage opener against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.
Emery took the decision to leave Ozil out of his squad for a trip to Germany, with youngsters such as Joe Willock and Bukayo Saka going on to star in a 3-0 win.
