After Unai Emery called Mesut Özil’s exclusion from his North London derby squad a ‘tactical’ decision, the papers quickly went into overdrive linking the German with an exit.

The Times and the Mirror reported that Arsenal were ready to listen to offers for their star man. The Daily Mail claimed Emery was running out of patience with the star, The S*n added that the Gunners had already set a £30m price tag to offload the German, and so on.

However, in matches this season without Özil, Arsenal have clearly found it difficult to create as many chances. He remains their chief chance creator in the league despite his limited appearances lately.

If the playmaker does end up moving on, Emery will need to replace that midfield creative presence. Let’s look at who he could sign to do so.

Click ‘Next’ for 5 Arsenal-linked Mesut Özil replacements