Mesut Ozil has wished Arsene Wenger a happy birthday and thanked the former Arsenal manager for his unwavering "trust and support".
Wenger, who is celebrating his 71st birthday, signed Ozil in 2013 from Real Madrid and relied upon the German as one of his key players during his tenure.
The pair enjoyed a good relationship, with Ozil rarely out of the Frenchman's plans - a stark contrast to the German's current situation at Arsenal.
The 32-year-old has not played for the club since March, and has been left out of the Gunners' Europa League and Premier League squads by Mikel Arteta.
Ozil released a statement on Wednesday where he aimed a dig at Arsenal for a supposed lack of loyalty and vowed to rescue his career at the Emirates.
Arteta responded by insisting that the decision was purely for football reasons, but Ozil has again appeared to aim a thinly veiled dig at the entire situation when he took to social media to send his former manager a birthday message, and made sure to include references to honesty, trust and respect.
The German posted on Instagram: "Happy Birthday, Boss! Thanks for all your trust and support you've given me from my 1st until your last day Arsenal FC.
"Without a doubt one of the greatest managers in the Premier League history - always respectful, fair & honest. Wishing you all the best!"
Wenger previously admitted that he could not understand the decision to leave Ozil out of the Arsenal squad.
“I don't know what's happening on a daily basis," he told Sky Sports.
“I just say one thing, the creative players are the players who are perfectionists and they are a bit more sensitive sometimes and they need to be encouraged.
“Because if I want to play a risky pass I need to be confident and creative players they create this pass that makes the team dangerous.
“Mesut Ozil is an exceptional football player. What's happening at the moment between him and the club looks to be more confrontational, it's not [only] based on sport, I'm convinced.
“This guy has won things. He's a world champion, he's an exceptional football player.
“Why is he not at the moment playing? I don't know.
“When you're a football player you have to respect the decision of your manager and fight to get your confidence and get back into the team again.
“He can fight, contrary to what people think, he can fight. And he's an exceptional football player, he has enough quality to get back into the team.
“So it's down to him to get his confidence back.”
