Mesut Özil has sent a message to Arsène Wenger thanking the former Arsenal boss for his ‘trust’ as well as his respectful, honest and ‘fair’ nature.
On the Frenchman’s 71st birthday, the German wrote: ‘Happy Birthday, Boss! Thanks for all your trust and support you’ve given me from my 1st until your last day @Arsenal FC.
‘Without a doubt one of the greatest managers in the Premier League history – always respectful, fair & honest. Wishing you all the best! #M1Ö‘
Interestingly, the former Real Madrid star’s message comes just a day after he claimed that ‘loyalty is hard to come by nowadays’ in a statement he made on Twitter.
That particular statement came after Mikel Arteta left the 32-year-old out of his Premier League squad for the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign.
Significantly, Özil has also been left out of Arsenal’s Europa League squad.
It was Wenger who signed the Gelsenkirchen-born playmaker back in 2013, parting with £42.4 million of the club’s transfer budget to sign him from Real Madrid.
While Özil enjoyed success under the birthday boy, things have gone sour for him under both Unai Emery and now Arteta.
His Arsenal career is coming to a stale end, as he looks likely to see out the final year of his contract sat in the stands twiddling his thumbs.
It’s a sad way to see a club use their £350k-a-week asset (figures according to Spotrac), although one would presume that Arteta has his reasons for not selecting the Arsenal No.10.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
