Mesut Ozil received £8m loyalty bonus from Arsenal despite not featuring for the Gunners since before lockdown

The German midfielder has been exiled by the Arsenal first-team by the Spanish coach and has not played a single minute of competitive football for the north Londoners since March 7.

Ozil did play under Arteta when the Gunners boss first arrived as head coach in December and the midfielder has reminded his social media following of what he can bring to the side.

The 31-year-old, who was their record signing when he moved from Real Madrid for £42.5m in 2013, was left out of Arteta’s squad for the Europa League group stage last week.

It remains to be seen whether Ozil will be included in the Gunners Premier League squad, which must be confirmed by October 20.

But his exile from the first-team picture looks set to continue, with the Gunners reportedly saving money with appearance bonuses not currently being met.

Ozil is currently on a £350,000-a-week contract at Arsenal and has maintained he will stay at the club even though he is not playing

Ozil also caused controversy last week by offering to cover the wages of Jerry Quy – the man inside the suit of club mascot Gunnersaurus – who was made redundant as Arsenal continued their staff-trimming after feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

His most recent competitive game for the club came in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over West Ham over six months ago, where he assisted Alexandre Lacazette’s late winner to grant the club all three points.