Arsene Wenger thinks Mesut Özil’s decision to leave the German National Team could end up hurting his club form as well.

Over the summer, Özil made the decision to leave his national side after becoming a scapegoat for their failures at the World Cup. The 30-year-old was subjected to racist abuse by the fans and in the media, and he felt a lack of protection from those in the German FA.

Since then, Germany have been extremely disappointing on the pitch. They struggled to create chances in a draw against France, then scraped past Peru 2-1 after coming from behind. After that, they were demolished 3-0 by the Netherlands and fell to a second consecutive defeat facing France again.

Wenger thinks Germany need their star playmaker back, but he also argues that Özil will be worse off without international football.

“I believe that Germany needs Özil,” Wenger said. “I hope that Low can convince him that he will come back. Özil is a super football player and was not the worst in the World Cup.

“I did not love it that he left the Germany team [because] the Germans respect what he achieved. A small bit of motivation disappears when you know that you don’t have to be ready for a World Cup, a European Championship.

“I love it when the players are as good as possible. He loses a bit if he does not play at an international level.”

Whether that’s true or not, it’s up to the Germans to reconcile the situation, in my opinion. After their treatment of Özil, someone who they clearly rely on to play their best football, a formal apology is the least they should be willing to offer.

Özil is taking a justified stand against the DFB, and that’ll all be for nothing if he rejoins Germany for the Euros without any ramifications on their end. We’ll see if they can set aside their pride and make amends. I very much doubt it.