Mikel Arteta could rue his decision to leave Mesut Ozil out of Arsenal's Premier League and Europa League squads.
That's the view of former Manchester City and Netherlands midfielder Nigel de Jong.
The 32-year-old is out contract at the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season, so he appears to have already played his final game for the Gunners as he won't be able to feature in either of the aforementioned competitions until the new year at the earliest.
Barring a u-turn from Arteta when it's time to resubmit his squad, Ozil's final competitive appearance for Arsenal will have been the 1-0 win over West Ham United in March 2020.
Without him this season the north London outfit have lacked creativity at times.
However, they've also looked more solid and Sunday's 1-0 win over Manchester United was another sign that the team is evolving under Arteta.
With that said, de Jong doesn't believe the Spaniard has made the correct decision regarding Ozil.
In fact, the Dutchman has even suggested that the playmaker still has the quality to help the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Willian, and Alexandre Lacazette make the Gunners more of a threat in the attacking third.
"If you look at the player Mesut Ozil then I think the creativity he has for the squad is impeccable, still," De Jong said on beIN SPORTS.
"Of course, he is now at an age. He's not the young Ozil that we knew four or five years ago.
"But I think the type of player he is then I think for Arsenal, especially with the players they have in front, I think a player like Ozil can really help you forward.
"But I don't know how the situation is right now between Ozil and Arsenal with Arteta.
"So, he cannot rely on him anymore and it could bite him back."
