BBC reporter David Ornstein has revealed why Unai Emery had to remove one of his key players from the squad on Friday, ahead of the clash with Liverpool.

The Gunners made a trip to Liverpool, only a couple of days after settling for a 1-1 draw away to Brighton on Boxing Day.

That clash with Brighton saw Mesut Ozil feature for only 45 minutes as he was substituted at half time by Unai Emery, much to the confusion of several fans.

The German midfielder was seen training with the squad ahead of the clash with Liverpool and indeed, many were awaiting on the decision from the manager over whether to start him again or not.

However, Ozil was not part of the squad which arrived on Merseyside on Friday evening as some rumours claimed his uneasy relationship with Emery was the reason why he had been left out of the team.

BBC reporter David Ornstein has moved to play down those claims though, revealing that Ozil’s exclusion from the squad was only because of a knee injury and nothing else.

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