Mikel Arteta has insisted that the decision not to register Mesut Ozil in his Premier League and Europa League squads are for footballing reasons.
The 32-year-old appears to have played his final game for the Gunners as he won't be able to feature in either of the aforementioned competitions until February at the earliest.
Furthermore, Ozil's contract at the Emirates Stadium expires at the end of the season and it's no secret that the club have attempted to move him on in recent transfer windows.
One rumour that has done the rounds regarding the playmaker's absence from both squads has been his refusal to take a pay-cut with the rest of his teammates earlier in the year.
However, Arteta has rejected that suggestion.
Speaking ahead of his side's Europa League group phase opener against Rapid Vienna on Thursday evening, the Gunners manager has accepted full responsibility for the decision and indicated that Ozil's form was a major factor.
"Everybody is free to express his feeling," Arteta said in his pre-match press conference. "That's just a football decision that my conscious is really calm.
"I've been really fair with him, my level of communication with him has been really high.
"He has had the opportunities like everybody else. I'm sad I had to leave three players out of this list.
"I want the best possible Mesut. In some moments I was able to get close to that.
"I take full responsibility, I have to be the one getting the best out of the players.
"It's my responsibility.
"The paycuts, it's not true.
