%20rotate(-8.06)%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22336.19%20136.81%20330.16%2094.25%20326.06%2071.19%20326.44%2071.13%20335.22%2093.54%20352.29%20134.52%20373.95%20131.46%20362.7%2052.01%20350.02%2053.8%20356.05%2096.36%20360.15%20119.42%20359.77%20119.48%20350.99%2097.08%20333.91%2056.09%20312.25%2059.15%20323.51%20138.6%20336.19%20136.81%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22402.91%2059.3%20412.36%20126.02%20427.17%20123.92%20417.72%2057.21%20431.59%2055.24%20429.79%2042.51%20387.23%2048.53%20389.04%2061.27%20402.91%2059.3%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22463.51%20118.77%20458.69%2084.71%20474.68%2082.44%20479.51%20116.5%20494.36%20114.4%20483.11%2034.95%20468.26%2037.06%20472.96%2070.25%20456.96%2072.52%20452.26%2039.32%20437.4%2041.43%20448.65%20120.88%20463.51%20118.77%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22540.5%20107.87%20538.77%2095.68%20518.91%2098.49%20515.77%2076.29%20535.63%2073.47%20533.93%2061.5%20514.07%2064.32%20511.11%2043.42%20530.98%2040.61%20529.25%2028.42%20494.53%2033.34%20505.78%20112.78%20540.5%20107.87%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22299.03%20155.17%20301.29%20171.58%20542.78%20138.39%20540.5%20121.97%20299.03%20155.17%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E)
Arsenal Omit Senior Duo From Premier League Squad
News many expected to happen, has happened. Mesut Ozil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos are out of the Premier League squad.
The season is in full swing with Carabao Cup, Premier League, ‘invigorating’ internationals and now Europa League football taking place. For Arsenal, however, there will be no Mesut Ozil or Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
Indeed, with the final squads for the 2020/21 Premier League season being submitted on Tuesday, 20th October, there is no sign of either senior player. It was inevitable though, wasn’t it?
Neither player made it into the squad for the Europa League, a tell-tale sign of what was to come. As it is, none of the two will play for Arsenal again. Unless there is a colossal u-turn that sees one or the other suddenly recapture their form of years ago, they won’t be making the revised mid-season squad lists either.
FA Cup? One can hope for their sake.
Happy birthday, Mesut! 🎈
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 15, 2020
🎂 @MesutOzil1088 pic.twitter.com/ZpBmhRB54w
While for Ozil the financial benefits of staying until the end of his contract are obvious, if he truly harbours any desire to play football again then a January departure must be on his mind. It will certainly be on Arsenal’s, who will know having him off their books for even six months will save them an absolute fortune in wages.
Our big lumbering Greek defender is not good enough to play for the club anymore. A dedicated professional who kept all his moaning on the pitch, that’s just the way it is. Arsenal must have hopes of securing some money for him in January, or else they wouldn’t have turned down the option of his contract being terminated and Sokratis then joining PSG, which was on the cards.
Four more months of wages being paid out to make absolutely zero impact whatsoever? I can only hope they have a plan in place for the winter window, otherwise they might as well have let him leave for nowt.
However, William Saliba is in. It’s (very) unlikely he’ll play, but the club were clever to register Saliba as an Arsenal player last season despite him being on loan in France.
Due to that, he will qualify as a homegrown player upon the completion of next season as he’ll have been in Arsenal’s Premier League squad for three seasons before he turns 21 years old.
Next. Ostracised Ozil. dark
Expect a tirade of dismay from the Ozil fan club.