Unai Emery: Mesut Ozil Needed by Arsenal, Is in Squad to Face Burnley

Unai Emery says Arsenal need Mesut Ozil and confirmed the playmaker is in the squad for Saturday's Premier League clash against Burnley at the Emirates Stadium.

Ozil has not started in the top flight since November 11, when the Gunners drew 1-1 against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but Emery said on Friday he is in contention to face the Clarets, per Rory O'Callaghan at Sky Sports.

"I want every player with a good mentality to help us. He can give us his quality and his characteristics. We need Mesut Ozil.

"Every player wants to play and help the team when we need them. The frustration is the same for everybody when they haven't played a match. I have told him what we need from him.

"He has the commitment to help us and the quality and the characteristics to help us when the team need him on the pitch. Tomorrow he is in the 18 players in the squad."

Ozil appears to have fallen out of favour under Emery of late and has missed games for a variety of reasons:

His absence from the team has also prompted speculation over his future despite signing a new contract in January worth £350,000 a week before taxes, per BBC Sport.

The Gunners are open to offers for the 30-year-old in the January transfer window, as Emery "doesn’t currently have a clear role for him," according to Miguel Delaney at The Independent.

Yet Arsenal may look to Ozil to provide the inspiration against Burnley. The Gunners have lost their last two outings, most recently on Wednesday to Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, and are in need of a result to get back on track.

They are also set to be without several players for the match due to injury:

Ozil's creativity may be required to unlock a compact and disciplined Burnley team. Sean Dyche's men go into the game in the relegation zone but were only narrowly beaten by Spurs last Saturday out due to Christian Eriksen's stoppage-time winner.

A strong performance from Ozil may help quieten speculation over his future. However, Emery has already shown this season he's not afraid to drop the German and does not appear to fully trust the World Cup winner.