Mesut Ozil, according to the BBC's David Ornstein (via the Sun), has been told he is free to leave Arsenal by Unai Emery. That means, for all intents and purposes, that the German won't be relied upon by the Spaniard as he looks to make something of his first season in England.

This is huge news, as previously, Ozil has been at the heart of everything at Arsenal. He's the number 10, he's the string puller, and he's got more experience than most of the other players in his squad. Now, though, Arsenal seemingly are ready to move on, and given this news, it should be down to Henrikh Mkhitaryan to step up to the plate.

The 29-year-old hasn't had the best time of it at Arsenal since he moved from Man Utd, with inconsistent form negatively impacting upon the Gunners' luck moving forward.

However, we all know how good he can be. At times in a Man Utd shirt, he looked like he was emerging as one of the Premier League's best players, with incredible goals, brilliant dribbling and an overall playstyle that transformed the way the Red Devils played moving forward.

He's offered some pretty good goal returns over the years, with 11 goals, alongside 15 assists, secured during his final season in Germany with Borussia Dortmund. Thereafter, he hasn't been able to hit those heights, but he's already matched his best seasonal Premier League goalscoring tally this season, and so that could bode well for the rest of the campaign.

Arsenal won't achieve success this season if they aren't able to create magic and excite going forward. Mkhitaryan has got that ability in his locker, and it's down to Emery to harness that.

Thoughts?