Özil, Khedira Axed from European Championships

Germany national team duo Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira, World Cup winners, are set to miss the European club championships this season.

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta has excluded Özil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos from the squad that will compete in the Europa League group stage, after announcing the list of 24 players on Thursday.

Özil, 31, has not played a match for Arsenal in months, and is barely present with the team.

Arsenal want Özil, the highest paid within the team, to leave, however the player wants to complete his contract, which ends in the summer of 2021, and has ruled out leaving the team before the end of his contract.

Meanwhile, Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo has excluded Sami Khedira, 33, from the team's 23-man upcoming Champions League group stage.

Juventus has been trying to reach a mutual agreement with Khedira to terminate the last year of his contract, but he resisted terminating his contract, which expires in 2021.