Lukas Podolski isn’t pleased with the way Arsenal has treated Mesut Ozil as the German closes in on a move away from the Emirates.
Arsenal was keen to get rid of the German, and as he struggled to impress, they axed him from their squad for the season.
He was left to just train with the team and saw no first-team action since last March.
He is now set to make a move to Fenerbahce, but Podolski hasn’t enjoyed how he was treated at the Emirates.
Both players won the World Cup with Germany and played together for two years at Arsenal.
He said that after giving more than five years of his time to the Gunners, he deserved to be treated better than how Arsenal handled the situation.
A player like Ozil should be playing regular football, and Podolski is happy that he will now get that in Turkey.
Reported by Sport Bild via Sun Sport, he said: “I generally think with a player who is now in his sixth or seventh year with the club, to kick him completely out of the squad, that’s absolutely not okay.
“He’s shown his class on the pitch, he’s never been negative towards his colleagues or the club.
“Arsenal as a club have not looked positive in this situation over the last months.”
“It was really a shame that it ended like this. No professional is satisfied if he is not allowed to play.
“Now Mesut can finally do what we all love again: play football.”