James McNicholas of The Athletic has been discussing whether or not Mesut Ozil stands a chance of being named in the Arsenal squad for the upcoming FA Cup final.
Mikel Arteta’s side are preparing to take on Chelsea at Wembley next weekend and along with host Andrew Mangan, McNicholas has been discussing the German’s his Arsenal future as well as his chances of featuring on Saturday evening.
Speaking on the latest edition of the Arsecast Extra in response to a listener’s question, the journalist said:
“Whatever you think of Ozil, he is talented enough to be in our [squad of] 18, for sure. I don’t think he will be at Wembley.”
“I feel like we’ve said this for the last three or four transfer windows in succession, but my god, they have to find a resolution, don’t they. To be honest, I think increasingly, there is only one resolution here – and that is that you pay Mesut Ozil a large chunk of money and say go and find somewhere else to play football.”
Would you like to see Mesut Ozil included in the squad to face Chelsea on Saturday?
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The World Cup winner has not been in Arteta’s matchday squad since the 2-0 victory over Southampton at St. Mary’s back in June. Although the 31-year-old is thought to have been suffering from a back problem, the former Real Madrid star has recently been on social media sharing an image of himself in training along with a caption declaring himself ‘ready’.
Whilst it may be unclear exactly what the issue appears to be regarding Ozil, we believe McNicholas could be correct in saying that the player is talented enough to be part of the squad, but the fact he continues to be overlooked perhaps suggest the coach is unhappy with his application.