Mesut Ozil was pushing for a release from Arsenal as they were going down against Aston Villa.

The playmaker, 32, was axed from both the Gunners' Premier League and Europa League squads for this season.

The Sun reports fans spotted the former Real Madrid man was active on social media as his side were thrashed 3-0 by Dean Smith's side at the Emirates.

Various screenshots of Ozil's liked tweets revealed the comments he took a particular pleasing to - before promptly deleting them.

One read: "Free Mesut Ozil."

Another said: "#FreeOzil miss you bro."

However a final which commented: "I miss you @MesutOzil1088," was still liked by Monday morning.