The Arsenal playmaker did not travel to Merseyside on Saturday.
Freddie Ljungberg has revealed that he wouldn’t have picked Mesut Ozil even if he was fit for Arsenal yesterday.
The World Cup winner was omitted from the Gunners squad that drew 0-0 away to Everton on Saturday.
Ljungberg, who has been Arsenal’s interim boss for a month, substituted Ozil in last week’s 3-0 defeat by Manchester City at the Emirates, but the 31-year-old reacted poorly to coming off and kicked his gloves.
The Swede said after that game that he would ‘deal with’ Ozil.
And it was no surprise to see him omitted from the squad that travelled to Merseyside, though Ljungberg said he was injured and wouldn’t have picked him anyway.
He told Arsenal’s official website: “He walked off the pitch [in the Man City game] and then kicked his gloves. The fans were not happy. I
” got asked about it and said, ‘At Arsenal, that’s not how we behave and not what we do’. I stand by that. Mesut was injured but I would not have picked him for the squad.”
Ljungberg is set to be replaced by Mikel Arteta, who has been appointed the club’s permanent head coach following Unai Emery’s dismissal.
Arteta knows Ozil personally after playing alongside him for a number of years in North London, and the Spaniard said on Friday that he’s a ‘massive player’ for the club.
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