Arsenal: Have we seen the last of Mesut Ozil as a Gunner

Mesut Ozil’s best days are certainly behind him after being excluded from Arsenal’s 25-man Europa League squad.

Following no summer exit for the outcast Mesut Ozil, it comes as a bit of a surprise that the manager has left him out of the 25-man Europa League squad. It does, however, signal the end of his Gunner life and that Mikel Arteta has no plan where the German features in.

"Mesut Özil has been left out of Arsenal’s 25-man Europa League squad, further underlining that he plays no part in Mikel Arteta’s plans."

Since Arteta was named the manager Ozil’s time on the pitch has rapidly vanished. Although, it has been for some time now that the player was limited to a smaller role at the club, despite being their highest earner. Afore Arteta’s arrival predecessor, Uni Emery, found it difficult to use the playmaker in his system.

During last season and over the course of their managerial changeover from Unai to Mikel, he only made 22 starts across all competitions. Mesut last featured in their victory over West Ham back in March seven months ago.

"Seven months have passed since Özil last featured for Arsenal and he has not been part of any matchday squad so far this season. It was conceivable he might be enlisted for action on Thursday nights given the hectic schedule Arsenal face – however, he has not made the cut for Arteta’s “A” list and it looks certain he has played his last game for the club. (Via: theguardian.com)"

Arsenal’s 25-man Europa League squad

GK: Bernd Leno, Rúnar Rúnarsson, Matt Macey, James Hillson, Dejan Iliev
DF: Héctor Bellerín, Gabriel, Rob Holding, Cédric, Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers, Pablo Marí, David Luiz, Sead Kolašinac, Kieran Tierney
MF: Dani Ceballos, Willian, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka
FW: Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pépé

Having not made the matchday squad for any Premier League fixtures or their penalty shootout triumph over Liverpool in the EFL Cup, the impression of him playing Europa League was felt strongly. Now, he along with Sokratis Papastathopoulos have not made the cut, making it crystal clear that the 31-year-old has played his last game in Arsenal’s red and white.

Adding to the recent snub, it is being further reported that the North London club are willing to pay the remainder of his salary for his time left on his contract, in hopes they can terminate his deal once and for all. His current deal is set to expire in June 2021.

The board is set to meet and have crunch talks with the creator who was once named the fastest player to 50 assists in English top-flight football. That record was proudly and masterfully taken by the Premier League Player of the Year for 2019/2020 Kevin de Bruyne.

A sad ending to a career that showed loads of promise in the early days. Sadly, many off-camera incidents and political talks by Ozil has been the most action he has seen in recent times and will be before he finds a new home.