Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has warned teammates not to write off the threat of Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil.

Ahead of Sunday's showdown, Gundogan, 28, reckons fellow German Ozil could become as important to Arsenal as Kevin De Bruyne is to City if Emery shows some faith in him.

He said: “A player like him, with his huge talent, I don't think it surprises just me, but a lot of people that he doesn't play regularly.

“People always criticise Mesut because they think his attitude on the pitch is not a good one.

“But people just struggle to accept you can have the more emotional kind of players, the more aggressive ones, and you have players like him that need this calmness for their game.

“It looks a bit more elegant and slow but believe me it's so difficult to defend against.

“They make everything look so easy and sometimes you forget to appreciate these kind of things."