Former Germany international Mesut Ozil deserves an explanation for his omission from Arsenal's Premier League squad, his agent has said while launching a verbal attack on the club's manager Mikel Arteta.
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The 32-year-old forward, a World Cup winner with Germany and an Arsenal player since 2013, last played for the club in March.
"Arsenal fans deserve an honest explanation, not (Arteta) saying, 'I failed Ozil.' You didn't fail Ozil. You failed to be fair, honest and transparent and treat someone with respect who has a contract and was loyal all the time," Ozil's agent Dr Erkut Sogut told ESPN.
"Every single person outside knows he hasn't treated him fairly. He didn't give him a chance to show himself this season. If he is still under contract, the player should have the option to stay and fight for his place. Mesut hasn't been given that.
Arteta said this week that his decision was "a football one" and that he "had failed" by not getting the best out of the German since he took over as manager last December.
Oezil's lucrative contract with Arsenal expires at the end of this season and Sogut said the German deserved a chance to prove himself.
"Everyone says he's training well," he said. "Per Mertesacker (now a coach at the academy) said this publicly. I spoke with at least five teammates who say he is training great. They say Mesut is one of their best players, and they cannot understand why he is left out.
"So it can't be the training. If it is not the pitch, what are the footballing reasons? If you talk, you should tell the truth that the Arsenal fans deserve, otherwise don't talk at all."
Australian Associated Press