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Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere said today that he was baffled at the continuous exclusion of Mesut Ozil from the Gunners' starting lineup under manager Mikel Arteta.
Wilshere, now at West Ham United, having left Arsenal two years ago, thinks there must be something that we don’t know about Ozil amid the German's conspicuous absence from the pitch — especially since football has returned after the COVID-19 lockdown.
Ozil has played no part, even as a substitute, in any of Arsenal's games since the restart, and that has left Wilshere baffled.
The Englishman said that when he was at Arsenal, Ozil was among his favourite players to play with, in an interview with TalkSport. He said;
"In terms of his footballing ability, I loved playing with him," Wilshere said. "He’s one of my favourite players to play with. He’d give you the ball at the right time, the right pace."
He went on to add,
"So I’m surprised he’s not playing, but I don’t know what’s going on there with that. There must be something that we don’t know because I can’t see why he’s not playing in terms of his footballing ability."
Wilshere said that by playing Ozil, Arsenal could get even more out of their talismanic captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
"Especially with Aubameyang, the type of player he is, you can imagine Ozil sat behind him feeding him balls. It would be unbelievable," Wilshere said. "It’s obviously something that we don’t know about. I’m sure Arteta has definitely got a plan and he’s putting that into practice."
Wilshere urges Aubameyang to stay at Arsenal
In the same interview, the boyhood Arsenal fan Wilshere also urged Aubameyang to stay at Arsenal. He said that if he were in Aubameyang's shoes, he would stay at Emirates Stadium.
"If I was him I’d stay, but it’s easy for me to say that. Listen, as I said, it’s important they keep him because he’s their go-to man, he’s their best player, he’s their leader," Wilshere said.
With uncertainty plaguing the future of both Aubameyang and Ozil, Arsenal have some big decisions to make in the next few weeks. Obviously, keeping hold of Aubameyang will be top priority for the Gunners' boss Mikel Arteta.
But on the other hand, Ozil moving elsewhere could be a monetary boost for Arsenal, with the German reportedly earning £350,000 per week - a whopping figure, especially when you consider how little he features in Arteta's plans.
Arsenal are currently on their off-season break after winning the FA Cup last weekend, and are set to return when the new Premier League season begins on September 12.
