The two closest allies of Mesut Ozil in the locker room of Arsenal have revealed

Mesut Ozil, of Arsenal, still has plenty of friends in the locker room – although he may be ruled out for the clash with Manchester United on Sunday.

Ozil is struggling to gain support from Arsenal manager Unai Emery, who does not know if the midfielder deserves a spot for the shock of the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The World Cup winner would be a distant character at training, but remains a popular figure with his teammates – two in particular are willing to support him.

His fellow countryman Shkodran Mustafi and Switzerland international midfielder Granit Xhaka are big supporters of Ozil, according to Metro.

Ozil played in the Emery Gunners throughout the season, but started the Europa League defeat against Rennes the last time – though he failed to make a significant impact.

Arsenal has lacked creativity in the middle of the park without German in the camp sometimes this season and Emery has repeatedly said that he had a problem with Ozil.

But the Times said Emery could leave the midfield once more when Arsenal will face Manchester United's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this weekend.

The newspaper says the Arsenal boss could ignore Ozil for three reasons.

The first is that Emery does not think that Ozil is working hard enough, the second is that he does not think the German setback is enough, and third, he thinks that the midfielder is retiring challenges.

The Times reports that Ozil is generally well liked by the Arsenal team and considered an accomplished professional. Ozil's conduct would be a stark contrast to that of Alexis Sanchez, whose histrionic and desire to force a trip to Manchester United aroused resentment of the team led by Arsene Wenger.