Mesut Ozil was left out the squad altogether to face West Ham last week while he was recalled to the bench for the Chelsea clash on Saturday.
But Ferdinand thinks it's up to Emery to get the best out of the German - because Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette will want him in the team.
"Get him on the ball and let him play balls through to Aubameyang and Lacazette," he said on BT Sport.
"Do you reckon they are sitting there saying they don't want him to play? They must be desperate for him to play."
Lacazette has been brilliant for Arsenal this season (Image: GETTY )
Ozil has been left out of the squad quite a bit this season (Image: GETTY )
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"If he's going to be a role model to the other players, he has to work harder.
"He's got to graft on the training pitch. There's been seven or eight times in the last 18 months where he's been left out of teams and he's gone missing, he's been injured or he's been ill.
"There's question marks. The manager wanted him to sit and do two weeks of training.
"He's not playing him for a reason, he's got to get him back in the team."