Arteta told how to get the best out of his ‘cherry on the cake’ Ozil

Ozil’s Arsenal days are numbered and he won’t play again unless Arteta takes some sound advice from Adams into consideration.

Tony Adams believes Mesut Ozil should return to the fold as he could become the ‘cherry on the cake’ in the Arsenal squad.

Arteta has dropped the German from the club’s Premier League and Europa League squads. And with less than a year left on his contract, this snub has effectively ended his time as a Gunner unless the manager reconsiders.

No changes in the squad for either competition can be made until January, but Adams feels it could be an opportune moment to unleash Ozil once again.

“Ozil for me is one of the best creative players in the world,” the former Gunners skipper told Sky Sports. “What he struggles with at times is the defensive side.

“To win the league, we need great players, like Dennis Bergkamp. Now and again I would ask Dennis to get back in behind the ball and just do a little bit for us. That’s all Ozil needs to do.

“But when you’re putting him on the sides and asking him to go with runners, he’s not got that in him. But with [Thomas] Partey he’s got someone who can [do that].”

Throwback to this astonishing Mesut Özil assist against Aston Villa in 2015 pic.twitter.com/z0LeRFIaxT

— Throwback Arsenal (@ThrowbackAFC) November 9, 2020

A lack of creativity has been cited as Arteta’s biggest problem after failing to sign Houssem Aouar from Lyon in the summer.

Arsenal haven’t scored in three of their last four league games, with even the prolific Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struggling to supply the goals this season.

Adams added: “I always said Ozil’s the cherry on the cake without [Arsenal having] the cake but we’re getting some players in the team [now] with stability there.

“There’s signs you could get the cherry on and let him pull the strings for Aubameyang down the middle.

“I would love to see Ozil in behind feeding Aubameyang all day long.”