Arsenal legend Ian Wright believes Mesut Ozil must replace Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the starting eleven for the North London derby against Tottenham this afternoon.

The German international was dropped for the 2-1 win over Bournemouth last weekend, but Wright believes the playmaker is the club’s best player and offers a lot more to the team than Mkhitaryan:

“He is our best player, you want him enthused. Arsenal can’t afford to have a player of that calibre on the bench as Henrikh Mkhitaryan is trying to find form. That is too much for Arsenal to carry.”

In terms of comparisons this season, the pair have pretty similar statistics with regards to goals and assists.

While Ozil has scored more goals (four to Mkhitaryan’s two), the Armenian international has created more for his teammates (three assists to the German’s one).

Whether Emery feels Mkhitaryan contributes more defensively, it is up for debate. What will be interesting to see is whether the Arsenal boss switches back to a back four after opting for a back three against Bournemouth.

A move to 4-2-3-1 would allow for a central playmaker like Ozil to be reintroduced, but we will have to wait and see what the manager decides upon.