World Cup winner Mesut Ozil is not in Arsenal’s Premier League squad for the first part of the season.
Ozil has dropped out of favour under Mikel Arteta since lockdown and the situation has clearly escalated to the extent he has been left out of the Gunners’ top flight party.
Gunners legend Ian Wright took to Twitter to react to the news, admitting his sadness that a resolution couldn’t be found.
Wright bemoaned the fact that an agreement couldn’t be reached, calling himself ‘gutted’ about the situation.
Ozil isn’t in Arsenal’s Europa League squad either, so he faces the prospect of months without football.
Will the snubs push the German closer to the exit door? That remains to be seen, but he has been on Twitter himself giving his view on the situation.
He says his loyalty to the club has not been reciprocated and said he was happy under Arteta before the pandemic.
He says London still feels like home and he will keep fighting for his place, so it will be intriguing to see what happens in January.
Wright is correct to say it’s a sad situation for all concerned.
Arsenal are paying for a footballer they won’t use; another example of the waste which goes on at elite football clubs in the modern era.
Ozil isn’t going to be playing, and no matter how much he’s earning, that’s going to rankle – training daily with no prospect of a game.
Nobody is currently winning from this situation and perhaps the future of Ozil will become clearer in January 2021.
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