Arsenal manager Unai Emery sends message to Mesut Ozil ahead of north London derby

Mesut Ozil

Unai Emery says he is looking forward to having Mesut Ozil back in the Arsenal team.

The German playmaker has yet to play in the Premier League this season, with a combination of security concerns and illness keeping him out of the Gunners' first three matches in 2019/20.

Ozil is expected to be included in the matchday squad for Sunday's north London derby against Tottenham, and Emery believes Arsenal will benefit from his return to the fold.

"With Mesut Ozil it’s the same message to him that I can say to you: We need him – and him firstly to be consistent in training, to be available in each match.

“For example, last week he wasn’t ready to play 100% at Liverpool . This week he is getting better with each training session and physically he is now better.

“We need him because he is a different player in our team. We have different ways to prepare to win, and different qualities with the players, different characteristics from them. We need him to be available and he can help us with his quality.”

Arsenal have seven points from a possible nine ahead of Sunday's crunch clash with Spurs at the Emirates Stadium.

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).