Arsene Wenger reportedly intended to leave Mesut Ozil on the bench for Arsenal's crunch Premier League clash with Liverpool at the weekend before illness ruled him out.
The Frenchman made a big call at Anfield by leaving star forward Alexis Sanchez out of his starting lineup, which he initially put down to a tactical decision.
It later emerged that Wenger instead dropped Sanchez due to a rumoured falling out, however, and The Telegraph claims that a similar fate would have awaited Ozil had he not been ruled out of the 3-1 defeat.
Ozil's performances have come under scrutiny in recent weeks, registering just two assists and failing to find the net in his last nine outings in all competitions, and Wenger had no plans to name him in Arsenal's side for the trip to Merseyside.
The futures of the Germany international and teammate Sanchez remains up in the air, with reports suggesting that Paris Saint-Germain will pounce for the latter at the end of the season.
Daniel Lewis
