Mesut Ozil appeared to indicate he would not be forced out of Arsenal against his will in a cryptic Twitter message which featured a quote from Gunners great Dennis Bergkamp.

The German has fallen out of favour at the Emirates Stadium under Unai Emery and has started just one game, against Cardiff, since the turn of the year. He did not travel to Belarus for Arsenal's Europa League defeat to BATE Borisov on Thursday night, having still been feeling the effects of illness.

There has been intensive speculation over the future of the 30-year-old midfielder, who signed a new contract worth a reported £350,000 a week before tax in January last year which ties him to the club until 2021.

On Friday evening, Ozil posted a picture of himself wearing the Arsenal captain's armband along with a quote from Bergkamp which read: "When you start supporting a football club, you don't support it because of the trophies, or a player, or history, you support it because you found yourself somewhere there; found a place where you belong."

Fans' favourite Bergkamp is considered one of Arsenal's greatest ever players and has a statue outside the Emirates. Ozil has divided opinion among Gunners fans since joining from Real Madrid in 2013.