REVEALED:WHY OZIL WAS DROPPED FOR BOURNEMOUTH CLASH

UNAI EMERY has revealed he axed Mesut Ozil for the game at Bournemouth fearing he wouldn't be able to cope with the physicality of Eddie Howe's side.

Ozil was dumped on the by Emery as he looked to end a run of three straight draws which threatened to derail their bid for a Champions League spot

The £350,000-a-week star didn't even bother to warm up in the second half, so clear it was that he would not be thrown on with the match evenly balanced.

And Emery admitted he thoughts others in his squad were better set to be able to match up in a clash with one of the hardest working sides in the division.

Emery said: "We thought how we can be better in the match today, with better demanding matches with physicality and intensity. And then we decided.

"Every player is important, also today we tried with three at centre-back and it is another possibility for us to improve and find our best performance as a team."

Arsenal dug deep to grind out a 2-1 win at the Vitality Stadium with the kind of display which backed up Emery's reasons for leaving Ozil out.

And the Gunners boss continued to allude to concerns over the 30-year-old's stomach for a fight when the going gets tough when he was asked why the player did not warm up.

"It depends how the match is going, he added. "I decided for other options."

Emery then declined a further opportunity to insist he still had trust in Ozil to play in the toughest matches, which hints at worries about how much he can rely on his highest-paid player when the chips are down.

Ozil now faces a week to convince his boss he should be recalled for the North London derby against Tottenham this weekend.

Spurs play with a similar intensity to Bournemouth, and Emery now faces a real dilemma over whether to leave him out for a second week.

He claimed the manner of the display in securing the win over Bournemouth was his side beginning to rediscover their best form.

And if he sticks with playing with three at the back it seems Ozil's place is very much in doubt.

Emery added: "We are finding out best systems and combinations, and today the combination of Sead Kolasinac and Alex Iwobi was very interesting for me.

"The most important thing for us is to find the balance - and that balance comes with more consistency in our defensive performance. We need more."