Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has suggested that the decision to give Mesut Ozil a new contract last season may have put the playmaker in a comfort zone.

Arsenal offered Ozil a new three-year deal, ending speculations about his future last year with Wenger still in charge of the club at the time.

But Ozil has since fallen out of favour under Unai Emery who took over from Arsene Wenger last summer.

The German has started just one game since Boxing Day and has once again raised speculations regarding his future at the club.

Speaking after being honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards, Wenger said: “I feel that the length of the contract has nothing to do normally with the selection of the team. But sometimes there are special cases.

“Most of the time now we think when we sign a player for five years we have a good player for five years. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they practice, they play their best. Because they might be in their comfort zone.

“He has a contract but the problem is that if you want to buy a player like him you have to spend £100million.

“And to maintain the value of the player, beyond the Ozil case, it is more about the way football is structured.”

“To buy players of top, top quality you need £100million. So the decision you have to make is whether you re-sign the player, who costs us nothing, or do we have the money to buy a new player?”