Ainsley Maitland-Niles – Arsenal Players Are Behind Mesut Ozil

Ainsley Maitland-Niles has made a strong statement regarding Arsenal’s omission of Mesut Ozil.

Mikel Arteta decided to drop the German for his 25-man squad for the Premier League this season.

“The club’s behind Mesut, we’re a team, that’s always going to be the case until Mesut decides to make his decision and what he wants to do,” Maitland-Niles told a news conference in midweek.

“Ultimately, we’re focused on the game for now. Then when we get back to the training ground we can talk about if he wants to go by as a team.

“We’re focused on the game as of now. And when we do finish the game and the three points are secured, then we can focus on going back to the training ground and solving the situation as a team.”

Ozil last played for Arsenal in the 1-0 Premier League win over West Ham United in March. He has not made a matchday squad since then, through the project restart and into the new season.

Regarding the squad omission, Maitland-Niles added, “That’s something you’re gonna have to ask the club. Us as players, we haven’t really thought about it much.

“We’ve literally been on the go the whole day. We’ve had our training session and took our flight here, so we haven’t had much time to sit down and process anything as a team.”