Bournemouth midfielder Jack Wilshere said that Mesut Ozil was not given a "fair opportunity" in his final year at Arsenal.
According to the Goal.com report, Arsenal have agreed to terminate Ozil's contract six months early so that he can seal a free transfer to Fenerbahce.
Mikel Arteta left Ozil out of his Premier League and Europa League squads at the start of the season, which was the final straw for a player whose last appearance for Arsenal came way back in March.
"No. I was friends with Mesut during my time at Arsenal and we had a really good relationship on and off the pitch, I thought. But no, I didn't speak to him. I'm sure it was as difficult for him [to not be playing] as it was for me. It's not nice to be in a position where you're not given that opportunity -- a fair opportunity -- to try and challenge for a place in the team," Goal.com quoted Wilshere as saying.
"Listen, people can have bad games and miss out on the team, but to not be given an opportunity is tough, and was tough, to take. So I'm happy that he has found happiness and hopefully he can go on to be successful in Turkey," he added.
Wilshere shared his experience of playing with Ozil and called him a "top player". The English midfielder added that the way things ended for Ozil at Arsenal is a "shame".
"It's a difficult one because I'm not at the club anymore and I'm like every other fan looking in. All I remember from him is what a joy it was to play with him. A top, top player. One of the best I played with," Wilshere said.
"It's a shame the way it went at Arsenal, but I'm sure a lot of the fans will remember him for his early days there when we had a really good team and we should have probably won a little bit more. But we won a couple of FA Cups and it was a pleasure to play with him," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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