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What's the news?
Former Arsenal defender, Martin Keown, has criticized Mesut Ozil for showing lack of professionalism and suggested there might be other reasons behind his latest omission from the Gunners' squad.
In case you didn't know...
The future of Mesut Ozil at Arsenal is in serious doubt, as he was left out of the Gunners squad for the Europa League tie against BATE earlier today. The former Germany international has started just one game in 2019 and was linked with a move away from the club in the January transfer window too.
Ozil has played 214 games since joining Arsenal and was also the recipient of the Arsenal Player of the Season accolade for his exploits in the 2015-16 season.
The heart of the matter
Mesut Ozil has missed 100 games since joining Arsenal and Martin Keown believes that his situation is becoming an embarrassment for the club.
He told BT Sport (via Goal):
"Is he injured? Is he ill? One thing as a player you've got to be is available for selection and you want to give consistency. He hasn't been able to give either of those.
He's got to work to get back into the team. That is what the manager is asking for that is what he has to do."
He further added:
"It is becoming embarrassing the Ozil situation. No [Aaron] Ramsey of course as well. Him not being part of the future is hard to take.
In the 313 matches, the North Londoners have played since Ozil arrived from Real Madrid, they have been without the playmaker for a century of those."
He also believes that there might be other reasons behind his inconsistency.
"We don't know if he is really injured or not. To miss that amount of games is quite remarkable, isn't it? One hundred matches in that period. Only the player really knows."
What's next?
After losing the first leg of their Europa League round-of-32 tie against BATE Borisov, the Gunners will be looking forward to turning their fortunes around when they host the Belarusian giants for the second leg at the Emirates on February 21.
