A 1-0 loss to West Ham over the weekend has seriously damaged Arsenal's hopes of a top-four finish this season. 

The Gunners were downed by a Declan Rice goal at the London Stadium, and have now fallen six points behind Chelsea, who currently occupy the last Champions League qualification spot.

Arsenal put in a rather toothless performance against the Hammers, and following the defeat, Unai Emery's team selection has drawn some criticism. 

He started both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette but named a very defensive bench, with young Eddie Nketiah the only recognisable forward on it. 

Even more surprisingly, Mesut Ozil missed out completely - as he wasn't even named in the matchday squad. 

In fact, the German hasn't featured since Boxing Day, and now he's recovered from injury, questions are being asked about Emery's decision to leave him out. 

JUST ANOTHER PLAYER

After all, under Arsene Wenger, Ozil was Arsenal's star man and he's still the club's highest paid player by far, earning £350,000-a-week.   

But the midfielder has fallen far down the pecking order under Emery. So much so, that the boss wants him out of the club before the end of the month.

That's according to the Daily Mail, who report that there are two main reasons as to why the Spanish manager wants to axe Arsenal's former star man. 

WHY EMERY WANTS OZIL TO LEAVE 

The first is because he views Ozil as 'dispensable' - which is clear for all to see, considering the midfielder has only played six times since October.  

The second reason Emery wants to offload Ozil is to free up transfer funds. 

Reports have suggested that the Arsenal boss is desperate to land Denis Suarez from Barcelona in January - but there is no money to sign him.

That's why Emery wants the club to cut their losses on Ozil. After offloading their highest paid player, they can then re-invest that money in other transfers that he has targetted.

Of course, whether Ozil stays or goes isn't just down to Emery - but it's likely that the manager's opinion will be taken into consideration. 

Therefore, there's a chance we could see the midfielder move on in the winter transfer window.