Loved the separate comments by Darren Lewis and Perry Groves on talksport.
Lewis points out that we won The FA Cup without him so we don't 'need' him to succeed.
Groves points out that Arteta didn't just drop him from the off, but he is also a former team mate and started Ozil prior to the break in play re COVID = this is not a decision made based on a lack of knowledge or for anything other than football reasons. He also says that Ozil doesn't suit the current style of play or the sort of commitment/work rate required by the manager.
In other words this is the primary reason players are sold when a new manager comes into a club. The only difference here is that the player also had 'issues' with both the previous 2 managers before the current one, so some people think there is a conspiracy, whereas the player is the one constant with all 3 scenarios (as the club does not select the team).
Another point - even if the club does save money by not playing him, any potential savings would be less than the potential gains if we made UCL, so in terms of money it makes more sense for the club to play him to regain UCL IF he meets the current requirements. What Ozil & Co are suggesting is that the club is cutting off it's nose to spite its face, and that both manager and club should do whatever it takes to accommodate Ozil into the playing side.
I also think AW was very much aware of how his comments re Ozil would add fuel to the fire in regards to both the player and himself v the club as well as being a criticism of both the club and Arteta. As such he did nothing to dissuade me that the club's decision to cut ties with him is not still valid.
