Mesut Özil not nominated to Arsenal's Premier League squad - Top earner on the sideline

Mesut Özil has experienced another setback. After the 32-year-old was not nominated by Mikel Arteta to represent Arsenal in the Europa League, the midfielder also failed to make his club's 25-player Premier League squad. The Gunners have 19 non-homegrown players but can only nominate 17, as a result, both Özil and Sokratis failed to make the squad. 

In other words: Arsenal's top earner—Özil signed a new contract at the beginning of 2018 that will earn him €20.5 million a season—will have to watch his club's games from the stands until at least the end of January. "The team is evolving and you can see the level they are achieving, so this is where we are at at the moment," Arteta said about the former German national team midfielder in September. "We want to evolve more, play better, and compete better, so we need to keep maintaining that trend."

Two weeks after not being nominated for the Europa League, Özil now also has failed to make the Premier League squad. His game in March against West Ham will, therefore, be likely his last game for the Gunners. Özil assisted the winner in that game and had played in ten games in a row. But after the coronavirus break and due to back problems, Özil lost in standing and was also one of the big losers in the latest Premier League market value update.

"I am here until the last day of my contract and will always give everything for the club," Özil had said in August. "Situations like this one will not break but only make me stronger." Those words date back to August, at a point when the 32-year-old could not realize that he might not be able to play at all for Arsenal this season. In theory, Özil could still leave the club, the Major League Soccer transfer window is open until Oct. 29 and there are several clubs interested in signing the German.