Mikel Arteta explains the omission of Mesut Ozil at Arsenal for the 17th consecutive game against Leicester

Mikel Arteta says it is difficult for Mesut Ozil to be part of Arsenal’s team of the day as the team evolves under his leadership.

The German, Arsenal’s highest-paid player, has not played a minute since the Premier League resumed after the lockdown in June and was again absent from the call-up for the Gunners’ 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Leicester. on Wednesday.

Ozil is in the final year of his contract with Arsenal and has shown no intention of forcing his exit before it expires, despite the fact that his chances of returning to the team seem slimmer by the day.

“I try to select the players who, in my opinion, are in the best condition,” Arteta said of Ozil’s omission for the 17th game in a row.

“You can see that the players that we are changing, that we are using, it is very difficult every week, not for Mesut but for some other players, to form the squad. Every week we try to choose the right players.

“It is also difficult for others who are not in the Premier League and did not play tonight either. We have a squad of 26, 27 players at the moment and we cannot give everyone playing time.

“The team is evolving, you can see the level they are reaching. This is where we are at the moment. We want to evolve more and play better and compete better. We have to continue to maintain it.

“We are choosing the players that we think are the best for each game. You can see that we continue to train, that is what we are trying to do.”