Mikel Arteta says he will take the blame for failing to get the best out of Mesut Özil after the midfielder hit out at a perceived lack of loyalty from Arsenal.

Özil looks certain to have played his last game for Arteta’s side after being left out of their Premier League and Europa League squads, and made his displeasure clear in a strongly worded statement on Wednesday.

Arteta rejected any idea that Özil, who has not featured since 7 March despite largely being fit, has been sidelined for off‑pitch reasons and suggested he should have got more out of the playmaker himself.

“My job is to get the best out of every player, to contribute to the team performance,” Arteta said. “Here I feel at the moment, today, that I have failed. I want the best possible Mesut for the team. And in some moments I was able to get close to that, and at the moment I have not been able to do it because I have to make the decision to leave him out of the squad.”

Özil is understood to have refused a pay cut in April, when Arsenal asked their players to help them save money during the Covid-19 shutdown. There have been other areas of disagreement, including disappointment on the player’s part that Arsenal did not back him when he criticised China’s mistreatment of Uighur Muslims last December.

“Honestly I take full responsibility,” Arteta said. “I have to be the one getting the best out of the players. It is nothing related to any behaviour or, like I read, the pay cuts. It’s not true. It’s my decision, if someone has to blame me.”

Arteta said his conscience was clear because he had been “really fair” with Özil and that the pair “know what to expect from each other”. They have spoken face to face but he admitted he was not surprised by the former Germany international’s broadside, which offered an alternative view of his treatment.

“I’m really deeply disappointed by the fact that I have not been registered for the Premier League season for the time being,” wrote Özil, who arrived in a high-profile move from Real Madrid in 2013. “Upon signing my new contract in 2018, I pledged my loyalty and allegiance to the club that I love, Arsenal, and it saddens me that this has not been reciprocated. As I have just found out, loyalty is hard to come by nowadays.

I’ve always tried to remain positive from week to week that there’s maybe a chance to get back in the squad again. That’s why I kept silent so far.

“Before the coronavirus break I was really happy with the development under our new coach, Mikel Arteta. We’ve been on a positive way and I would say my performances were on a really good level. But then things changed, again, and I was no longer allowed to play football for Arsenal.”

Özil went on to reiterate his commitment to Arsenal, saying he would “keep fighting for my chance”. But it appears certain that his 254th appearance, against West Ham seven months ago, was his last. His contract expires at the end of the season and there is no prospect of it being extended.

It is a messy saga for Arsenal and Özil. The player’s £350,000 weekly salary is a weight for the club but Arsenal should arguably have known the risks of offering such terms to a player who turned 30 the year he signed that deal.

Any sense of unity between the two has been absent in recent months and Özil also appeared to cross swords with them two weeks ago when he offered to pay the salary of Jerry Quy – the man inside the “Gunnersaurus” costume – who was recently one of a slew of redundancies among Arsenal’s non‑footballing staff.

Arsenal, minus Özil, commence their Europa League campaign against Rapid Vienna in Austria on Thursday night. Thomas Partey could make his first start while Shkodran Mustafi has travelled after recovering from a hamstring injury.