Ozil omitted from squad for defeat at Man City
Thursday 18 June 2020 12:33, UK
Mikel Arteta says Mesut Ozil was left out of the Arsenal squad for their Premier League meeting with Manchester City for "tactical" reasons.
Ozil was not in the starting XI or named among nine substitutes for the match at the Etihad, as Arsenal lost 3-0.
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Manchester City denied Liverpool the chance to win the Premier League title at Goodison Park on Sunday night with goals from Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden.
After the match, Arteta was asked about Ozil's omission, he answered: "It was tactical."
The Spaniard picked a youthful line-up for the behind-closed-doors encounter, with Eddie Nketiah selected over Alexandre Lacazette up front and Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock and Matteo Guendouzi also starting.
The defeat leaves Arsenal eight points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with nine matches to play, they're next up against Brighton at the Amex on Saturday afternoon.
Arteta says he will not allow Arsenal to "stand still" in the transfer market, following Chelsea's decision to move for RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner.
Chelsea have already been busy in the transfer market after completing a £33.3m deal with Ajax for attacking midfielder Hakim Ziyech, while Germany international Werner also looks set for a move to Stamford Bridge after a deal in principle was agreed to sign him.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have warned that their budget could be restricted if they fail to secure a place in next season's Champions League, but Arteta says the club cannot afford to "stand still" or they risk falling further behind their rivals.
Asked if Chelsea's move for Werner makes him worried about Arsenal's ability to spend heavily this summer, head coach Arteta replied: "Well let's see, we're trying to put a plan together to improve what we have.
"We haven't been able to do or achieve the results we wanted in the last three years. There's a reason behind it and if we stand still obviously that gap will get bigger and bigger. I haven't come here to accept or to do that.
"The challenge for all of us is first of all to improve the players that we have and find the ways to improve the squad in the right positions in order to give us the best possible chance and tools that we need to compete at that level which is getting higher and higher every year."
The Premier League 2019/20 season returned on Wednesday June 17 and Sky, the UK's leading football broadcaster, will make 25 games available 'free to air' - including Everton vs Liverpool on the first full weekend back - for everyone in the UK to enjoy.
Sky Sports will show 64 live Premier League games when the season resumes. In addition to the 39 matches already scheduled to be broadcast exclusively live on Sky Sports before the coronavirus interruption, 25 more matches will be available on both Sky Sports Premier League and Sky's free-to-air Pick channel, allowing the whole nation to be part of the return of live sport.
To celebrate the return of the Premier League, Sky Sports will also launch a host of innovative new features and updates to give fans an even more immersive experience and share the moments live with family and friends on virtual platforms.
