Arsenal ace Mesut Ozil wasn’t included in the match-day squad for his side’s clash with West Ham on Saturday, and Unai Emery has revealed why.
As noted by The Mirror, Ozil had been expected to feature against the Hammers after being tipped to recover from a knee injury.
Further, as seen in his tweet on Friday below, he himself revealed he had been training all week and so it seems on the face of it that he was available and at Emery’s disposal.
Full week of team training done ???? #M1Ö #YaGunnersYa #COYG @Arsenal pic.twitter.com/fYrJiSq9dR
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) January 11, 2019
However, he wasn’t even able to get a spot on the bench which raised question marks as to why he had been left out entirely by Emery.
According to the Metro, the Arsenal boss has offered a no-nonsense explanation as he’s quoted as saying: “The players here are better for the match today.”
In addition, it’s added in the report above that the PA have suggested that the 30-year-old was left out for ‘tactical reasons’.
Although injuries have been a problem, Ozil has been unable to cement his place in the Arsenal starting line-up this season even when fit, and so this latest snub could potentially raise question marks over whether or not Emery has a major role for him at the Emirates.
It doesn’t look particularly reassuring if Ozil can’t even get into the squad for a game against West Ham, but with the Gunners still competing on multiple fronts with the Europa League and FA Cup still in their sights, Emery will surely have to rotate and use his squad depth to his advantage in the coming months.
