Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has questioned Mikel Arteta's decision not to include attacking-midfielder Mesut Ozil in his Premier League 25-man squad.
The Gunners submitted their squad list to the Premier League hierarchy earlier this week and there was no place for the former Real Madrid ace.
Ozil has not played for the Gunners since March - the final game before lockdown - and does not appear to have a future at the Emirates Stadium, with his contract poised to expire next summer.
Though Arteta has always stated that Ozil's omission from the squad is purely because of footballing reasons, former Arsenal man Merson believes there is far more too it than that, insisting that it is a "shame" that Arsenal's supporters will most probably not ever see him don a Gunners shirt again.
"I can’t see how it’s for footballing reasons," Merson told Sky Sports "The lad is too talented, too good.
"For him not to get a place in this Arsenal team, it must be more than just football.
"He can make things happen. He was in Arteta’s team before the lockdown and everything went through him.
"He’s a special player and it’s a shame we won’t see him now."
Merson is not the only person bemused by Ozil's omission from the squad, with former Tottenham Hotspur boss Tim Sherwood also struggling to make sense of it.
Sherwood, now a pundit for Sky Sports, believes the decision has been made by the club and not necessarily Arteta.
"It sounds like the club's decision rather than Arteta's," Sherwood said.
"I can’t understand why they’re not playing him. For me, he’s the most talented player they have.
"Yes, they have superb fire power in [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang and [Alexandre] Lacazette but they lack creativity and he [Ozil] is a top player.
"His work-rate and body language can be frustrating but when he plays well, he is a top-drawer player who can play for any club in the Premier League."
