Mesut Ozil believes he may have been frozen out at Arsenal because he refused to take a pay-cut on his £350,000-a-week wages.
The coronavirus pandemic saw football suspended in March, and prompted Arsenal to ask players to take a pay-cut to help the club manage the financial situation.
Arsenal initially proposed that first-team players take a 12.5 per cent cut for 12 months, but this was turned down.
Mikel Arteta then pleaded with his squad, and eventually some Gunners stars agreed.
Ozil was not among these players, and the German believes his decision may have hindered his opportunities on the pitch.
Ozil told The Athletic: "Possibly the decision affected my chances on the pitch, I don't know.
"But I'm not afraid to stand up for what I feel is right - and when you see what has happened now with the jobs, maybe I was."
On taking pay cuts, he added: "As players, we all wanted to contribute. But we needed more information and many questions were unanswered.
"Everyone was fine with a deferral while there was so much uncertainty - I would have been OK to take a bigger share - and then a cut if required, once the football and financial outlook was clearer. But we were rushed into it without proper consultation."
Arsenal hoped pay cuts would prevent redundancies at the club, but the Gunners announced last week that 55 members of staff were being let go.
This angered many first team stars, who were under the impression that their wage deferrals meant all staff would retain their jobs.
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