Ian Wright has said that he feels sorry for Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, but admires Mikel Arteta’s stance on and urges fans to get behind the team.
The German playmaker has fallen down the pecking order in North London during the last nine months, with him not having played a senior match since the Coronavirus pandemic put a halt to the Premier League schedule.
His stock at Arsenal has plummeted even further down since the new season began, and Ozil has not even been registered for the club’s playing squad for the Europa League or Premier League, meaning he will be stuck vying for a place in the Under-23 squad, or hoping to feature in the Carabao Cup or FA Cup, unless he was to look for a move away.
Ian Wright can’t help but feel sorry for his fellow professional, but backs the manager for sticking to his word.
“It’s a shame,” the ex-Arsenal striker told Premier League Productions (via Goal). “From a professional point of view, I’m gutted for Ozil because for some reason they can’t settle their differences.
“At the same time, you’ve got to admire the manager sticking to his guns. He’s the one that’s said ‘Listen: This is my decision’.
“For whatever reason, he doesn’t want to play Mesut. It’s a shame because he’s a quality player. Sometimes it just happens like that. Unfortunately for Mesut as a professional he wants to play football it won’t happen here.
“From what Mikel is trying to do Arsenal fans have to concentrate on now, it’s all about the team and the progression of the team.”
I don’t think much more needs to be said after Wrighty’s closing comments, as he hit the nail on the head. Ozil is done, Arteta made his decision, now let’s get behind our team and cheer on the player’s who are actually on the field.
Patrick