Mesut Ozil signed a contract worth a reported £350,000-a-week last January as he entered the final six months of his previous deal.

The reason for the incredible wage was actually thanks to a teammate - Alexis Sanchez had entered the same 'predicament' but chose to move to Manchester United on the (relative) cheap.

Arsenal had lost Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool the previous summer, forced into a sale as he entered the final year of his contract and then Sanchez took advantage to leave, too.

They didn't want Ozil jumping ship and so the Gunners offered him a mammoth amount of money so they wouldn't be forced to say goodbye to him.

But now, under a year later, they'd really like to say goodbye to him.

The German is completely out of favour under Unai Emery, most recently left out of the squad to face Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup for what was termed 'tactical reasons'.

It's now being reported that Arsenal are happy to listen to any offers for Ozil - although they now fear that his wage will deter any suitors.

So where did it all go wrong?

The midfielder was getting decent game time and playing quite well at the start of the season but he's now barely playing at all.

According to a report by the Mirror, it was October's game against Crystal Palace that proved the turning point for Emery.

The report states that Emery's own backroom staff told him to bench the player away at Palace but the Arsenal boss not only started Ozil but made him captain.

Ozil didn't perform, however, and even threw down his armband after being substituted on 68 minutes.

Emery was said to be infuriated and decided there that he could no longer trust the 30-year-old.

Sure enough, Ozil hasn't started an away game since, with 20 minutes at Southampton his only game time away from the Emirates Stadium.

If Emery really has given up on Ozil, he doesn't seem like the kind of manager to easily change his mind - and that really could spell the end this January.