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Mesut Ozil aims dig at Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after crushing defeat at Man City
Mesut Ozil has been quick to react to Arsenal's 5-0 defeat at Man City on Twitter.
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Mesut Ozil has aimed a dig at Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on Twitter following the Gunners' crushing 5-0 defeat against Manchester City on Saturday. Ozil was frozen out of Arteta's plans in the latter stages of his Arsenal career, and it seems like no love has been lost since his departure.
Arteta watched on as 10-man Arsenal were battered by Premier League champions Man City at the Etihad Stadium.
Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres fired City into a 2-0 lead within 12 minutes before Granit Xhaka saw red after a horrendous challenge in the 35th minute.
Gabriel Jesus made it three on the brink of half-time before Rodri and Torres struck in the second half to complete a 5-0 rout.
Shortly after full-time, Ozil took to Twitter to seemingly aim a dig at Arteta amid a woeful start to the Premier League campaign.
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— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) August 28, 2021
Ozil left Arsenal for Fenerbache in January after a spell out of Arteta's plans at the Emirates Stadium.
Before his exit, he hadn't played a minute of football since March 2020 and was excluded from the club's 2020/21 Premier League squad.
Many questioned Arteta's decision to freeze the German playmaker out as Arsenal struggled to create chances as they slumped to an eighth-place finish last season.
The Gunners have started the new campaign horrendously, losing their opening three games without scoring a single goal but conceding nine.
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Speaking after the defeat at the Etihad, Arteta described it as 'painful' after a good start to the game.
"Really painful, a lot of things happened in the game to get where we got.
"I think we started the game really, really well, and in the first situation, they had the ball wide of the box we didn't defend the cross, we defended the run into the box really poorly, and we're 1-0 down.
"Then we tried to go again, we created some situations, and we conceded the second goal.
"For me it was a clear punch on Callum's face, the referee allows it to go, we are 2-0 down and after the red card we had a mountain to climb."
Arteta also expressed his gratitude for the supporters who travelled to Manchester.
"When you lose games, it's impossible [to sell to the fans]," Arteta explained.
"But you saw we had 3,000 fans today and the way they reacted to the team and the club with the support they gave, the conditions, that's why we all went to applaud. I am really proud of that.
"I am sorry we could not give the result, and we have to fix it."