Arsenal welcomed back 2,000 fans to the Emirates for their 4-1 win over Rapid Vienna in the Europa League on Thursday and one supporter took the opportunity to show their support for Mesut Ozil.
The 32-year-old has been axed from Arsenal’s Premier League and Europa League squads this season, with manager Mikel Arteta insisting it was “just a football decision”.
Ozil’s omission has divided supporters and one fan brought a banner to the Rapid Vienna game which simply read: “Bring back Mesut”.
The playmaker has not played for Arsenal since a 1-0 win over West Ham back in March, where he assisted Alexandre Lacazette’s winner.
Club legend David Seaman recently expressed surprise at Arteta’s decision to freeze out Ozil, telling The Target Men podcast: “I am surprised Arteta is choosing to leave out Mezut Ozil because he’s a player of quality.
“I feel something has gone on personally between the two of them, because to leave him out, and on the money he’s on, is a big statement and for me it’s a bit of a waste, because he’s still a quality player.
“When you look at the Arsenal team, we’re crying out for a player like that, so why don’t you build your team around Ozil rather than just leaving him out in the field and letting him go.”
Former Arsenal interim boss Freddie Ljungberg also claimed that “there should be a space” for Ozil at Arsenal, telling the Athletic : “When I left in the summer he was in the squads and now he’s not. What’s happened there, I can’t answer.
“I don’t know if something else has happened, I have no clue. But if you look at pure football qualities, I think my answer is quite obvious.
“When I was interim coach, I would play him in the games when I thought he could unlock defences, even if I knew his defensive job was not as good as some other players. “So that’s my opinion; there should be a space in certain games.