Mesut Ozil was left out of the Arsenal squad entirely for last night’s North London derby, which saw Tottenham book a place in the EFL Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.
There has been a growing feeling that the German playmaker does not have the energy required to flourish in Unai Emery’s high-tempo system.
The likes of Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have been preferred in recent weeks; their industry making up for their lack of natural artistry in the eyes of their manager, and last night’s team selection was the clearest indication yet that Emery is not keen at all on Ozil.
Ozil is attracting attention from Inter Milan with regards a January switch to San Siro, according to the Daily Mail, and last night’s exclusion is only going to push him further towards the Emirates Stadium exit door.
Emery has been handed plenty of opportunities to publicly state his desire to keep Ozil or underline his long-term importance to the club, but has so far declined to do so.
Ozil of course signed a new contract in January, but if this treatment continues, that deal will look more like a way for Arsenal to negotiate a high selling price, as opposed to a commitment between player and club to prolong their working relationship.