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Mesut Ozil (Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta admitted that he hasn’t been able to get the best of Mesut Ozil after the German expressed his anger at being left out of the Gunners’ Premier League team.
The 32-year-old is the highest paid player in Arsenal’s history, but has also been excluded from Arsenal’s Europa League squad, raising doubts that he will play for the club again.
Ozil hasn’t played a single minute for Arteta’s team since March 7 and is out of contract at the end of the season.
“My job is to bring out the best in each player, to contribute to the performance of the team. Here I feel at this moment, today, that I have failed,” Arteta said at a pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday’s Europa League trip. to Rapid Vienna.
“I want the best Mesut possible for the team. In some moments I was able to get close to that, and for now I have not been able to do it because I have to make the decision to leave him out of the squad. “
Earlier Wednesday, Ozil expressed frustration at being marginalized and suggested that he had not been treated fairly.
“By signing my new contract in 2018, I pledged loyalty and loyalty to the club that I love, Arsenal, and I am saddened that this was not reciprocated,” Ozil said in a statement posted on social media.
“I can promise you that this difficult decision will not change anything in my thinking. I will continue to train to the best of my ability and whenever possible I will use my voice against inhumanity and for justice.”
Last December, Arsenal distanced itself from Ozil’s comments criticizing China’s treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang.
The World Cup winner also refused to accept a 12.5 percent pay cut in line with the rest of the Arsenal team when the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus struck in April.
However, Arteta insisted that his decision was purely football.
“My conscience is very clear because I have been really fair with him. My level of communication with him has been very high and we know what to expect from each other,” added Arteta.
“Obviously a player of that dimension, with the career he has had, everything that happens around him has a great impact.
“It has been the case for the last eight years, it is nothing new what is happening now. A lot has happened during these eight years.”
Earlier this month, Ozil offered to pay the salary of popular Arsenal mascot Gunnersaurus after Jerry Quy, who has played the role of dinosaur since 1993, was fired by the club with empty stadiums during the crisis. of Covid-19.
