Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson has expressed his sadness at how Mesut Ozil's situation at the club has played out.
Having been frozen out of the team since March by manager Mikel Arteta, Ozil has now been left out of the Gunners' Premier League and Europa League squads.
That means he will not be able to play again until February at the earliest, and it seems highly unlikely he will ever be seen in an Arsenal shirt again.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Merson stated his belief that the club are taking a big risk in leaving out the German playmaker.
"He’s an absolute talent," Merson said. "So, to keep him out of the squad, completely out of the squad, it's a big gamble by Arsenal.
"He’s on massive wages, no doubting that. He gets fortunes. I'm surprised, it shocked me. When I was told that he’d been left out of the squad I was shocked if I'm being honest, because I am one of his biggest fans."
"I think when he's on song, he can play and you've got to remember just before lockdown, he was playing,"
"He was playing in Arteta’s team so for him to come back and then not be in the team and not even get a squad place, yeah I'm quite surprised."
Merson also thinks it is a massive pity that Ozil cannot end his time at Arsenal on a high, and thinks there is no way that he will be happy to sit out this season.
He added: "It’s a shame. It’s a sad day for Arsenal. It’s a sad day for him if I’m being honest.
"People go, ‘Oh yeah but he's on 350 grand, what does he care?’ You want to play football. You know when you get to my age and you're not playing football anymore. It soon goes."
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