Mesut Ozil isn't the only Arsenal player who hasn't been registered in this season's Premier League and Europa League squads.
However, there hasn't been too much of a fuss made about Sokratis Papastathopoulos who finds himself in an identical situation to the attacking midfielder as his contract also expires at the end of the campaign.
The Europa League squad was confirmed at the beginning of the month, while clubs in the top flight of English football were required to name a squad of 25-players by 2pm on Tuesday (October 20)
Within that 25, eight had to be homegrown, and clubs were only permitted to select a maximum of 17 foreign players, but there are no limits on the number of under-21 players which can be used by clubs throughout the season.
As Deyan Iliev (loan) and Emiliano Martinez both departed over the summer, the number of homegrown players in the Arsenal squad significantly dropped from last season.
Furthermore, the Gunners' summer signings in Willian, Gabriel Magalhaes, Dani Ceballos, Alex Runarsson, and Thomas Partey took five of the 17 foreign spots available which left manager Mikel Arteta with a massive decision to make.
And what he decided was bad news for Ozil and Sokratis.
Given that neither player has been named in the aforementioned squad, it means they may not kick a ball until January at the earliest when the winter transfer window opens.
But while Ozil and his agent, Dr. Erkut Sogut have both hit out at the club over his treatment, Sokratis has remained rather tight-lipped on the situation thus far.
This approach has impressed a number of Arsenal fans who have taken to social media and praised the central defender for his professionalism.
Take a look at what's been said on Twitter...
In regards to his Europa League squad announcement, Arteta insisted it was difficult to leave out Ozil, Sokratis and young defender William Saliba.
"Here as well with Mesut I feel pain when I have to leave players out," he told reporters. "Believe me. It's the same when I have to do it with Papa or the fact that William [Saliba] is not here because of a restriction we have with the competition.
"Obviously as you can understand I cannot disclose the technical decisions whether I play players or not or whether I spoke to them."
