Ex-Chelsea and Celtic midfielder Craig Burley thinks Arsenal and Germany playmaker Mesut Özil needs to look at himself before criticising former players of the Gunners.

Speaking on ESPN via Daily Star, Burley shared his views on Özil’s situation after the 28-year-old posted on Facebook calling on people to “stop talking and start supporting”.

Burley responded: “Here’s what you’ve got with Mesut Ozil, he’s criticising former players for criticising, saying ‘get behind us and support us, oh and by the way, in the meantime I am just going to sit back and hold the club to ransom on a £300,000-a-week contract (offer)’ or whatever it is.

“He’s not signed has he, so he’s not exactly supporting his club by not signing a contract, but they’ve got to get behind him whilst he makes his mind up? I think not.”

The former Chelsea player also couldn’t resist throwing in the usual clichés about Özil, as he added: “Here’s a guy Mesut Ozil who is clearly a talent. But he does it when it suits him, not particularly in the bigger games for Arsenal.”

When it comes to signing a new contract, in many ways it seems like Burley has a point. If Özil wants to dull the speculation around him and show his commitment to the club, signing a new deal would be the best way to do this. It would get the fans on side and maybe ex-players as well.

However, it’s not clear that the delay in signing a new deal is entirely the midfielder’s fault. According to BBC journalist David Ornstein, there have been no new contract talks since March, which implies that Arsenal haven’t tried to initiate anything for five months.

There was no reason given for this though, so perhaps Özil told Arsenal six months ago that he would come back when he was ready to talk, we don’t know. I’m just speculating.

As for the comment about big games, this is nothing new but also not something you can say about the former Real Madrid man exclusively. When Özil plays well, the rest of the team does too. When he doesn’t, neither does anyone, I feel.