Mesut Ozil will not be included in Arsenal’s 25-man Premier League squad, which has to be submitted by Tuesday afternoon, report agencies.
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.
Premier League rules state that Arsenal must submit their 25-man squad by 2pm BST (9am ET) on Tuesday and it must include a maximum of 17 non-homegrown players over the age of 21.
Arteta has 19 to choose from, however, due to the club’s failure to move on some fringe players during the summer transfer window, meaning that two senior stars can’t be registered to play during the first half of the season. And Ozil and centre-back Sokratis have been informed they will not make the squad. The decision comes just a week after both were also left out of the squad for the Europa League group stages.