Arsenal need to give star player Mesut Ozil some “loving” to help him regain his desire and motivation for football, according to former player Emmanuel Petit.
The 30-year-old German playmaker has fallen out of favour with Gunners boss Unai Emery this season with the Spanish tactician who replaced long-serving boss Arsene Wenger in the summer.
Emery claims he is keeping Ozil on the sidelines to “provoke friction” with him in a bid to jump-start the World Cup winner’s willingness to fight his way back into the team.
However, Petit, who spent three seasons with the Gunners between 1997 and 2007, winning the World Cup with France in 1998, while helping the Londoners pick up the Premier League and FA Cup double, feels love is the key to get Ozil back on side.
In addition to a World Cup medal with the German in 2014, the former Real Madrid man has won a Spanish title and Copa del Rey and picked up three FA Cup medals with the Gunners.
He is currently sitting on a contract worth £325,000 a week and Petit feels he has lost his zest for the game.
He said: “I think he lost his motivation and desire. He now looks as if he is just waiting for his retirement.
“A player losing his motivation happens a lot. We are not robots. Sometimes you get into a new season and it’s just not the same. It’s very difficult to play at the same level all of the time.
“If you earn so much money, have already won so many titles and, on top of that, if you have problems in your private life… I don’t know what’s going on in his life, but I can see what’s going on out on the pitch and his body language is not good.”
There has been talk of a move to China for Ozil, but Petit insists that would be a huge mistake for a player of his quality and he is looking for the two parties to bring the current situation to a happy ending.
He added: “It’s a great shame, because I hope he can do something not just for himself but also for the club. He’s a beautiful player, but he needs to be loved.
“I think the club needs Ozil, Ozil needs to understand that and he must get over his frustration and try to fight until the end. To somehow save his pride.”
