Mesut Ozil doesn't care about football any more, claims Arsenal legend

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Mesut Ozil's “motivation and desire” are gone and he is just sleepwalking towards retirement.

That is the damning verdict of Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit, who has warned Ozil he must fight to revive his career.

Former Gunners midfielder Petit fears the German playmaker - who is the club’s highest earner on £350,000-a-week - is no longer driven because he earns so much money and has won a World Cup.

Ozil has been frozen out under Unai Emery and Arsenal are now ready to subsidise his wages to get him off their books. But Petit insists the 30-year-old can still force his way back into their starting line-up.

Petit, who in 1998 helped Arsenal win the Double AND lifted the World Cup with France, said of Ozil: “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.

“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.

“It’s January. In two weeks’ time, the market is closed. I don’t see him leaving the club. Where would he go? To China? Honestly. You want to see Ozil finish his career in China?

“I’ve nothing against China, but for a player like Ozil, that cannot happen.

“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.”

Ozil, who is of Turkish descent, quit playing for Germany after last summer's World Cup finals, claiming he was the victim of racism and had received hate mail and threats following the nation’s disappointing campaign in Russia.

Petit believes that has scarred him mentally, but warned he must put it behind him and start earning the huge wage that Arsenal are paying him.

Petit added: “What happened with the national team, has had a big impact on him. I was following the story for weeks and weeks in Germany and Turkey and I thought to myself, ‘It’s far beyond the limits.’ Some people attack Ozil as a person, not as a footballer.

“This is the life of a modern sportsman, you need to do that. You need to fight. I don’t want him to leave Arsenal, I just want him to come back on the pitch and to do what he’s being paid for.”