Arsenal face West Ham in the early kick-off on Saturday, but playmaker Mesut Ozil will play no part for the visitors having been left out of the squad.
The Gunners will be hoping to build momentum after starting 2019 with back-to-back wins, the last of which was a 3-0 victory over Blackpool in the FA Cup last weekend.
SEE MORE: Arsenal set for transfer scrap with Man Utd to strengthen Unai Emery’s attacking options
However, Unai Emery’s men start the day three points adrift of Chelsea in fourth place in the Premier League table, and so they will be desperate to secure a win and put the pressure on their rivals in the hunt for a top-four finish.
Ozil will not be at Emery’s disposal to help do that though, as confirmed in the club’s tweet below with the German ace not even making the bench.
As noted in the reaction below, it has come as a surprise to many fans who weren’t particularly impressed with the snub, as the Mirror note that Ozil had been expected to return to the fold after recovering from a knee injury.
Whether Emery didn’t feel as though he was fit enough or perhaps for another reason, the Arsenal boss has decided not to include Ozil in his plans, and it hasn’t gone down very well judging from the response on Twitter.
Securing three points is key regardless of who plays though, and the Gunners will certainly be hoping to do so against a Hammers side who have only won two of their last five games across all competitions.
? The stadium’s set
? The lads have arrived
? The lineups are inIt’s time to reveal our starting XI for #WHUARS ?
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 12, 2019
No Ozil pic.twitter.com/metFNeMhSB
— Josh (@joshmill96) January 12, 2019
No ozil pic.twitter.com/G1MQdZ55uW
— P™ (@Cechque) January 12, 2019
No ozil
— iiits_akshat? (@SharanAkshat) January 12, 2019
No Özil pic.twitter.com/2Hx1hISDBP
— GunnerNews (@GunnerNWS) January 12, 2019
where is ozil??
— *?? crystal !! ??* (@pcytloml) January 12, 2019
Where is mesut? ?
— Aggi (@Aggiriftakhul) January 12, 2019
So.. Özil is sick again?
— Milo K (@afcmilo) January 12, 2019
Bring back Özil 🙁
— ?Aaron (@ReidTheGame) January 12, 2019
No Ozil again? Only Arsenal would give all that money a week to ozil and let Ramsey go for free, should have been the other way round
— GG (@samsmithjnr81) January 12, 2019
Tell us,what must Özil do to get into the starting 11?
— ?GunnerSim1? (@gunnersim1) January 12, 2019
You’re paying Özil 350k a week!! If you’re not going to play him he needs to be sold!
— Jamie Carson (@J4MIEC4RSON) January 12, 2019
Where in the world is Özil? I miss him playing
— Ö (@itsghinahere) January 12, 2019
Like if you miss Ozil pic.twitter.com/QP588KxYv7
— Sir Gooner (@SirGoooner) January 12, 2019
Why No Özil???!!!
— Torreira (@TorreiraX) January 12, 2019
answer me WHERE TF IS OZIL ?
— Hari ? (@shamppyy) January 12, 2019
Where is Ozil??
— Fatgzim Sadiku (@sadiku_fatgzim) January 12, 2019
Emery, where is Mesut Ozil?
— e'lbert (@ethelbertnwosu) January 12, 2019
