Mesut Ozil will travel with Arsenal for their pre-season tour of Singapore, new head coach Unai Emery has confirmed.
After Germany crashed out of the World Cup at the group stage, Ozil has been on holiday and has yet to return to pre-season training as Emery has begun work with those players who did not participate in Russia.
Emery’s first game in charge of the Gunners was a comfortable 8-0 win over non-league Boreham Wood on Saturday, with new signings Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Matteo Guendouzi involved.
The Spaniard confirmed on Monday that Ozil, as well as Mohamed Elneny and Alex Iwobi – who were also eliminated from the World Cup at the group stage – will play a full part in the Singapore tour, with Arsenal flying east on July 22.
“All the players are the same,” Emery told Arsenal Player.
“They have the same holidays. I know Iwobi, Elneny and Mesut Ozil. He’s coming with us to Singapore the first day.”
Arsenal face Emery’s former club Paris St Germain and Europa League holders Atletico Madrid in Singapore as part of the International Champions Cup.
Ozil came in for fierce criticism for his underwhelming displays at the World Cup as the 2014 winners surprisingly finished bottom of their group.
The 29-year-old also saw his form and commitment to Arsenal questioned during the latter stages of last season, with former Gunners defender Martin Keown claiming Ozil was not ‘giving everything’ for the common cause.
Ozil signed a new, bumper contract at the Emirates Stadium in January when it appeared he was more likely to follow Alexis Sanchez out of the door.
Speaking on Thursday, Emery said he intends to help Ozil return to his best in the forthcoming campaign.
“We are here to help every player,” he said when asked how he will ‘fix’ Ozil’s form.
“For us Mesut is a very important player…today he is on holiday and I want him to relax good and I want, when he comes back with us, to start with a good mentality.”