Micah Richards has praised Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta in The Daily Mail for the way he has handled Mesut Ozil.
Ozil has not played for Arsenal since March and has also been left out of the Gunners’ Europa League squad.
According to The Daily Mail, the former Real Madrid attacking midfielder will be omitted from the Gunners’ Premier League squad as well.
Former Manchester City and Aston Villa defender Richards, who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports, has been impressed by how Arteta has handled Ozil.
Richards wrote in The Daily Mail: “Ozil isn’t playing for Arsenal because he won’t press the way Arteta wants him to. If it had anything to do with ability, Ozil would be in. If a player has flair and is willing to work, you always find room for them.
“What I love about the way Arteta has handled Ozil is that he hasn’t allowed one bit of animosity to creep out into the sport pages.
“We don’t know whether they are locked in a feud or if there has been a row because the manager deals with everything so clinically. It’s a real skill, that. It’s easy for news of rifts to leave the training ground but Arteta has taken care of this so expertly.”
Admirable
Ozil does not seem to be in the plans of Arteta, and with the German’s contract at Arsenal running out at the end of the season, there is a very good chance that he may have played his last game for the North London club already.
What is remarkable is that Arsenal are not missing Ozil at the moment, with the team playing well under the guidance of Arteta.
The Gunners are playing a good pressing game with the players working hard and chasing the ball after they are dispossessed, and there is an argument to be made that this is not Ozil’s game.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
