Mesut Ozil will not be included in Arsenal’s 25-man Premier League squad, which has to be submitted by Tuesday afternoon.
The decision means the club’s highest-paid player, who earns £350,000 ($453,000) a week, will not be able to play again for Arsenal until February at the earliest.
But the likelihood is that the German has now played his final ever game for the club where he has spent the past seven years following his move from Real Madrid in 2013.
Ozil’s last appearance for Arsenal came in last season’s home win against West Ham, the final match before football was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in March.
He has not even made a matchday squad this season, even in the early stages of the Carabao Cup when Arteta has rung the changes.
Arsenal had hoped to move Ozil on during the summer transfer window and there was interest in the playmaker from clubs in the Middle East, but he has always maintained he would see out his contract with the Gunners, which runs until 2021.
Should that remain the case, then it looks like he has played his final game for the club as it is highly unlikely that Arsenal will include him in their squads for the second half of their Premier League and Europa League campaigns, which will have to be resubmitted following the January transfer window.