MESUT OZIL faces being frozen out by Arsenal boss Unai Emery – after the club tried and failed to sell him over the last 12 months.
The 350,000-a-week midfielder has featured in just two matches this season.
He was left out of the squad completely for last night’s Europa League clash with Vitoria Guimaraes and fears his Arsenal career is over, with Emery turning to youngsters Joe Willock, Ashley Maitland-Niles and Emile Smith Rowe.
The 42.5million signing from Real Madrid has been baffled by his absence from the squad and held a tense meeting with Emery.
He told The Athletic: “When I signed the new deal, I thought about it very carefully and said it was one of the most important decisions of my footballing career.
“I didnt want to stay for just one or two more years, I wanted to commit my future to Arsenal and the club wanted me to do the same.
You can go through difficult times, like this, but that is no reason to run away and Im not going to. Im here until at least 2021.
“I said that Arsene Wenger was a big factor in me joining Arsenal and he was but ultimately I signed for the club.
“Even when Arsene announced he was leaving, I wanted to stay because I love playing for Arsenal and thats why Ive been here for six years.
“When I moved from Real Madrid , it was a really tough time for Arsenal. But I always believed in what we could do and together we delivered.
“More recently things have been difficult and a lot has changed. But Im proud to be an Arsenal player, a fan and Im happy here.
“Whenever people see me in the street I always say, This is my home. Im going nowhere.
Spaniard Emery has made it very clear from early on in his Gunners reign that Ozil simply does not fit into his plans.
He refused to discuss the German’s future after last night’s 3-2 win.
Emery said: “I think tonight is not the time to speak on that.
“I prefer to speak about the match and about the players that played.
“He wasn’t in the squad and that was the decision and we will now work for Sunday.”
Whether Ozil features at home to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday is another matter.
He has been left out for five games on the trot now across all competitions.
He featured in just 24 Prem games last season.
Ozil’s Arsenal deal ends in 20 months but the club are expected to try again to flog him in January in a cut-price deal to get his huge wages off the bill.
Emery and Ozil have failed to see eye-to-eye for some time.
The Spaniard has history for refusing to cow-tow to club’s biggest earners.
And crucially he has director of football Raul Sanllehi’s backing on his stance.
Emery clashed with Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain before he moved to the Gunners.
In our poll, 51 per cent of Gunners fans want the boss to dump their expensive signing.
