Mesut Ozil was left out of the Arsenal’s squad that stunned Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on Saturday with a 2-0 win in the Emirate FA Cup semi-final match. The former German international decided not to lament over that since it has become a culture for the manager of the club, Mikel Arteta not to feature him in any match since football returned to England in June.
The 31-year-old attacking midfielder who has been with Arsenal since 2013, decided to wait until hours before Chelsea football club knocked out Manchester United from the FA Cup on Sunday with a 3-1 win before he reacted to all the drama between him and Arsenal.
Ozil took to his Instagram page early on Sunday morning to share a photograph of himself dressed as richly as possible, stood before a mirror and took a selfie to announce to the world that he is not too bothered about what has been going on in his career since his 350,000-per-week salary is still flowing.
In the caption, Ozil wrote “M10” to remind Mikel Arteta that he still remains the best number 10 he has at the club. He also added the Turkish flag to the caption which did not sit well with his German followers.
Since Ozil retired from the German national team after the 2018 Fifa World Cup, alleging discrimination and disrespect by the German Football Association (DFB) and the German media, he has been trying to embrace his Turkish root more than Germany which he represented for over 11 years as a footballer.
Hence, as he has been having issues with his managers at Arsenal from the days of Unai Emery to the reign of Mikel Arteta, it could be safe to say that Ozil is not at peace with Germany.
However, he is yet to denounce the citizenship of the country just like how he has not been able to forgo his £350,000-per-week pay at Arsenal to join another club where he can keep playing football.
Mesut Ozil is suffering from ‘pure football reason’
Before Arsenal went on to beat Manchester City on Saturday for the first time this season, the manager of the club was asked why he decided to leave Ozil out of his squad, Mike Arteta said he took the decision due to “pure football reason”.
“My only ambition is the best squad and the best players who give us the best opportunity to win the game”, Mikel Arteta added.
It is left to see whether the 31-year-old will make the squad on August 1 when Arsenal return to the Wembley Stadium to face Chelsea in the FA Cup final. The last time both teams met at this level was in 2017 and Arsenal won the match to claim their last major title.
Ozil’s contract with Arsenal will expire in June 2021 when he would have turned 32-year-old. The club is not showing any sign that they will extend his contract. In fact, critics of the German football star are suggesting that the club should pay him off if no club comes for him this summer.
