Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has admitted he is "surprised" by Mikel Arteta's decision to oust Mesut Ozil from the first-team squad at the Emirates Stadium.
The attacking-midfielder, who joined the Gunners from Real Madrid back in September 2013 for a club-record fee at the time, has not played for the club since March 7, with Arteta having made the decision to freeze him out in north London.
Despite rumours of differences of opinion between the pair, Arteta has always defended his decision, insisting it is purely down to footballing reasons.
However, Wilshere, who is currently on the hunt for a new club after leaving West Ham United last month, has admitted that he is struggling to understand the midfielder's omission from the squad, insisting he is "one of the best" he has ever played alongside.
"Yes, I am, because I played with him and I used to love playing with him," Wilshere told The ITV Football Show, alongside host Mark Pougatch and Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend.
"I really enjoyed it and he is one of the best I have played with, so, yes, I am surprised. But there is obviously something that we don't know because a player of his quality [should be playing].
"I reckon he could get into any team in the Premier League, that is my opinion, and to not even have the opportunity to compete for a place is difficult to understand.
"But there must be a reason, I don't know."
With Arsenal struggling to score goals so far this season, and them still keen to add a new attacking-midfielder to their ranks, it is surprising that Arteta, who will be hoping to see his side return to winning ways when they face Molde in the Europa League on Thursday evening, has not handed Ozil the opportunity to get his Gunners career back on track.
With that not having proven to be the case, Wilshere is still surprised by his former colleague's absence, admitting that he is not the "lazy" player that so many have described him as.
"You look at the No.10s and a lot of them run in-behind, they do a lot of work without the ball and the luxury players don't," Wilshere continued.
"Look, Ozil... there was a lot of shouts about him being lazy, but I have never found him to be lazy.
"I know this is easy to say, but if you looked at his stats after a game, he wasn't at the bottom of it. He is also pretty quick, surprisingly."
The former Real Madrid midfielder's contract at the Emirates Stadium is up next summer, meaning it appears incredibly unlikely that his Arsenal career will go beyond the end of this current season.
In recent weeks, there has been no shortage of speculation that Ozil could seal a move to the MLS once his contract reaches its conclusion.
