Lukas Podolski delighted to see Mesut Ozil leave Arsenal

‘He can finally play football again!’: Lukas Podolski is DELIGHTED to see Mesut Ozil leave Arsenal as he prepares to sign for Fenerbahce with German striker saying it’s a ‘shame’ Mikel Arteta froze him out

  • Mesut Ozil is poised to join Fenerbahce after Arsenal released him early
  • German midfielder, 32, had been frozen out Gunners squad by Mikel Arteta
  • Ozil hasn’t played a first team game since July last year as contract ran down
  • His former Arsenal team-mate Lukas Podolski is thrilled he will be playing again
  • Podolski will come up against Ozil in Turkey as he plays for Antalyaspor  

Lukas Podolski is delighted his former Arsenal team-mate Mesut Ozil will get the chance to play regular football again with Fenerbahce.

The German playmaker, 32, is on the verge of signing for the Turkish club he supported as a boy.

Ozil is in Istanbul to complete formalities on the deal after Arsenal released him from his contract six months early.

Lukas Podolski (right) is pleased his friend and former Arsenal team-mate Mesut Ozil (left) will be able to play again more regularly when he completes his move to Fenerbahce 

Ozil poses with a Fenerbahce scarf after touching down in Istanbul on Sunday night

And after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta froze Ozil out last summer, omitting him from his Premier League and Europa League squads, Podolski is happy for his former colleague.

‘I am delighted that Mesut will play for is in Turkey in the future,’ 35-year-old striker Podolski, who plays in Turkey with Antalyaspor, told Sport Bild.

‘He is an asset to the league and at 32 years of age is till in his prime footballing age. It happens again and again in the Super Lig that great player named are presented by the club bosses in order to satisfy the fans.’

And Podolski didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Gunners for their treatment of Ozil.

Podolski says it is a ‘shame’ Ozil left Arsenal under a cloud after Mikel Arteta froze him out

Arteta did not include Ozil in Arsenal’s Premier League or Europa League squads this season

Ozil was demoted to the Arsenal bench last July and then dropped from their squad altogether

He added: ‘It was really a shame that it ended like this. No professional is satisfied if he is not allowed to play.

‘Now Mesut can finally do what we all love again – play football.’

It’s not the first time Podolski, who played alongside Ozil for two season at Arsenal between 2013 and 2015, has criticised the club’s conduct.

Earlier this season, the German said: ‘He’s good enough (to be their man man) with support from the coach and the team, but something has happened with the club, you can feel that.

Ozil earlier shared a snap of him and his family on a plane with Fenerbahce flags behind him

The Arsenal man posed alongside his family while wearing a Fenerbahce scarf after arriving

‘Is he in a disagreement with the club? When I talk to him, we don’t want to talk to him about that kind of stuff. It’s his situation, him and his agent have to deal with that. 

‘He’s a good character — he’s not an a**hole. He doesn’t do interviews where he speaks badly of his team-mates or of Arsenal and it’s a shame we have this situation because everyone is losing. Ozil is sat in the stands, Arsenal are paying him and there is no winner.’




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