This article is part of Football FanCast's Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba's haircuts to League Two relegation battles...

The time has come for Mesut Ozil to be reintroduced to the Arsenal starting XI.

Manager Unai Emery has frozen out the Germany international in recent months and he has played just 71 Premier League minutes this season.

Those minutes came against Watford in a 2-2 draw but since then, he was on the bench against Aston Villa and omitted from the squad altogether for the encounters with Manchester United, AFC Bournemouth and Sheffield United.

Against the Blades, Emery’s men huffed and puffed but were ultimately beaten 1-0, as they wilted in front of a vociferous Bramall Lane crowd.

The main thing that they needed, of course, was some genuine creativity.

Arsenal recorded nine shots in total and only three of those were on target.

Ozil, in case you needed reminding, is Arsenal’s creative fulcrum. He has recorded 74 assists in 233 games for the club and has also scored 43 goals. That’s a total of 117 goal involvements. That’s 0.5 goal involvements per match, or one every two games.

There isn’t anyone else with such numbers in the Arsenal squad.

Of course, Ozil is a difficult case. He can go off the boil and he isn’t guaranteed to win Arsenal games. In fact, he’s in a position where he can actively hamper his side; if Ozil doesn’t play well, and everything is being funnelled through him in that No.10 role, Arsenal can struggle to be effective in the final third.

But we’ve seen that leaving him out altogether can have the same effect, and that is without the prospect of him turning in a Man of the Match display.

If he manages to do the latter, he can turn the game on its head and pick the lock for either Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette up front.

After Monday night’s execrable performance, there isn’t really an excuse for leaving him out anymore.

Arsenal are crying out for the kind of player who can break through defensive lines with clever dribbling and passing. Ozil offers that.

Add into the equation the fact that he is likely angry about his own treatment and has a point to prove, and one has to think that he could be the game-changer Emery needs.

When the Gunners take on Crystal Palace this weekend, Ozil has to be in the team.