Mesut Özil will play for Arsenal if he do this one thing - Arteta claims

Mikel Arteta has explained what he wants to see from players that are out of the Arsenal team, if they want to get back into his plans, and insists that he wants to get the best out of every member of his squad.

This comes as Mesut Ozil continues to be frozen out at the Emirates, with the club spending £350,000-a-week on his wages. The 31-year-old has not even made it onto the substitute’s bench this season, in any competition, despite being fit and available for selection.

Arteta insists he is still working to get the most out of the former Real Madrid man, but must have a ‘stable team’ on and off the field. ‘With the players and the squad I have, it is my job to manage it as good as possible and take the maximum performance out of them and have a stable team, emotionally and in terms of performance as well,’ said the Spaniard. ‘Whoever is here, get the best out of him and the contribution that this player can make to the team.’

The manager believes the likes of Dani Ceballos and Rob Holding have proved that they can fight their way back into the Arsenal first team, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Mohamed Elneny have done the same. Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock and Bukayo Saka have also demonstrated what the boss wants to see to force their way into his plans.

‘it’s always the balance of how much are you giving, how much are you willing to sacrifice and work in order to achieve if your dream is to play for Arsenal Football Club and I think we have some really good examples with what happened with Eddie, what happened with Ainsley, what’s happening with Joe, what happened with Bukayo, what happened with Dani Ceballos and what happened with Rob Holding,’ he said. ‘So it’s about that.

When I see a player really willing and really trying and really making their only emphasis to be to contribute to the team and try to raise the performance of himself and the collective side, they’re going to have a chance.’

Arsenal host Sheffield United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.