BBC pundit Karen Carney believes Mesut Ozil will outlast Unai Emery at Arsenal

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BBC Sport pundit Karen Carney believes Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil will outlast his manager Unai Emery at the Emirates Stadium.

Ozil has been largely frozen out by Emery this season, but has started the last two Premier League matches, against Wolves and Leicester.

Carney said: “Mesut Ozil will stay at Arsenal longer than Unai Emery. Both of their contracts end next summer but it is the manager who is struggling most. Why Ozil hasn’t been playing against teams who play a low block is baffling. He is wasted on the bench.

“I don’t think Ozil has been used in the right manner. People underestimate the work rate and confidence to always want to be in possession. Because of how fast the game moves, standing still and using game intelligence can sometimes be mistaken for laziness. He is a special player that is needed in certain games and situations.”

TBR’s View – Ozil could have helped Arsenal already this season if Emery had handed him the chance

As Carney says, Ozil could have helped Arsenal in games against deeper defences in games where too much of the creative burden has come onto Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s shoulders.

Arsenal are sixth as it is, without having been great at all, so extra points in matches where they have struggled could have gone a long way towards easing the pressure on Emery.

Instead, he has burned bridges far more than necessary with a clearly talented player who he was always going to struggle to move on because of his bumper wages.