Returning Ozil has Arsenal future says Emery

Mesut

Ozil will return to the Arsenal squad for Saturday's Premier League visit of

Burnley, with manager Unai Emery saying he believes the midfielder has a future

at the Emirates Stadium.

Ozil did

not make the substitutes' bench for the League Cup quarter-final defeat to

rivals Tottenham in midweek and has been on the fringes of the team in recent

weeks.

He

missed four recent games with a back problem but has started just once since

November 11 -- and that was a Europa League dead rubber at home to Qarabag.

The

30-year-old was a mainstay in the Gunners side under previous manager Arsene

Wenger but Emery has shown he has no issue with keeping the club's highest-paid

player on the sidelines.

Asked if

Ozil will be in the squad to face Burnley, Emery said: "Yes. I want every

player with a good mentality to help us and give us their characteristics and

quality. We need Mesut Ozil.

"Every

player wants to play and be OK to help the team when we need. The frustration

is the same for everybody when they didn't play in a match.

"But

I spoke with him and with regularity in the season. I am telling him what we

need from him and he has the commitment to help us and the quality and the

characteristics to help us when the team needs his moments in the pitch in one

game. Tomorrow he is in the 18 players, in the squad."

Ozil's

lack of game-time has led to rumours linking him with a January move away from

the club, although when asked if the former Germany international has a future

at Arsenal, Emery replied: "Yes, why not?"

It

remains to be seen what role Ozil plays at the weekend but it appears unlikely

that captain Laurent Koscielny will feature.

The

33-year-old has recently returned from a serious Achilles issue that had kept

him out since May.

He

started against both Qarabag and Southampton and came on at the interval

against Spurs but, despite being without a number of injured defenders, Emery

is keen not to ask too much of Koscielny at a delicate stage of his comeback.

"Koscielny

is OK but he played two matches this week and tomorrow will be a lot for

him," he said.

"We also need to be calm with him, to take time for a lot of matches before he continues playing. But I trust him and we have solutions for who can play in this position."

AFP