Arsene Wenger says that the contractual situations of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are difficult, and that the club have had to ignore the financial implications in order to keep both players this summer.
It’s not unusual for players in the final 12 months of their deals to be sold if they can’t agree new terms – not just at Arsenal, but across football in general, yet Arsenal have decided to do just that.
Speaking after last night’s incredible 4-3 win over Leicester, the Arsenal manager admitted it wasn’t easy, but insisted both players were happy and would give their best for the Gunners this season.
“It’s difficult because you have to ignore complete the financial factor,” he told NBC.
“On the football front the decision is easy because you want the best players to stay at your club, the hope I have as well is that they weaken a little bit and they extend their contract.
“They are happy here, it’s more that the discussions we have opened couldn’t be concluded, but there’s no bad feeling.
“The players love to be here, they show that, you saw Ozil – he tried until the last minute tonight.”
When you consider what both players might fetch on the market this summer, it does illustrate that sporting considerations have now trumped financial ones, which is something to be applauded.
Hmmmmm
If I were them I’d take the bumped up offers and stay.
They have the chance to be Arsenal legends. But they’ll never be legends for any team if they leave Arsenal.
Alexis is already a legend in Chile…
Chile is a country mate.
Yes it is, well done.
And Ozil for the German national team.
But they won’t be legends for another club team.
Legends don’t pay Bills. No doubt they want to leave a legacy as a great player, but very few players are bothered about being a legend at a specific club.
Its the fans who want players to be legends for their clubs, not most players.
“Pay bills”
They provably can’t even spell bills, fans take care of that..
Doubt theyve had any problems paying the electricity or gas like the rest of us recently…
Between their salaries and private endorsement they’ve both got more money than they could spend in a life-time unless they become addicts… and that won’t end when they stop playing as the endorsements will continue, especially for Alexis with Chilean businesses.
If Alexis is going to be looking pissed off all season and then leave I would probably sell him and reinvest the money, although not to a direct rival.
Ozil seems happier and more likely to stay.
What was your face looking like when we were behind last night?
Like the face Alexis had last season in games where things are not going his way.
You poor thing. It must have destroyed you to see Alexis score the winner in the semi-final final at Wembley and then the opening goal in the final.
In your mind he’s nothing but a sulking loser; in reality, his performances and energy pretty much saved our season at the end. Wake up and stop hating on our best player.
I don’t hate him I just think he is miserable and wants to leave.
Not just because of the way he looked last night. His comments over the summer, his behaviour at the charity shield, and obviously the fact that he isn’t signing a new contract.
Apologies, my comment wasn’t directed at you my friend. You’re pretty reasonable with your criticism and I usually agree with you.
He may want to leave, but I don’t think he’s miserable here at all. I love him but still think we should sell and reinvest, but if we can’t even get fringe players off the wage bill to bring new players in, why sell our best player?
There a pictures of him smiling too. What a fuss about nothing
There are but they are always smiling in the training pictures
Given what we know about him its quite possible that he looked miserable simply because he wasn’t on the pitch. The man loves to play football.
So what? He signed a contract and he is now going to be held to it. He knew that was a possibility when he signed.
He wants to continue playing for Chile so he will continue to perform to his best ability for Arsenal.
He doesn’t have to love us to do that.
It was ‘here we go again’ …
If Alexis plays as we know he can who cares about how he looks when he is watching a match. It could be that he wants to be on the pitch. People read too much into these things
Once the season starts, stuff like “he was laughing on the bench when we misplayed a pass” replaces “his agent was seen having an energy drink, so he must be going to Leipzig.”
I had a feeling that Ozil missed Alexis on the field yesterday. He seemed a bit lost at times without Sanchez being around… Sanchez being one of the very few who could read Ozil’s mind on the field.
….but he will develop that understanding with Lacazette soon enough. They’re both professionals.
Most fans werent too bothered that he was one of 60 odd thousand looking worried inside the emirates a goal down, the only people who werent were probably more concentrating on alexis’ mrs on the big screen.
I think Alexis’ conduct has been less than ideal. While he may not be directly agitating for a move, he’s done nowt to calm the waters. Anything close to £70-80 million would surely have to be grabbed with both hands.
Why. He’s our best player and to replace him would cost a great deal of money.
Sorry thumbs downs he can be replaced for very little money. How doily of me
Unfortunately no one outside man city is going to pay that. So the choice is increasingly keep him or sell him to city. I say keep
He’s happy enough to play out his contract. He doesn’t intend to re-sign. We know these things. Under those constraints, he’s been a fairly model citizen, IMO. If you ignore the rumor mill, basically he’s said, “I’m open to moving on, but it’s the club’s decision whether it’s this year or next.” No agitating there, no throwing the team under the bus, no saying Arsenal cannot achieve his ambitions. That’s all been in the media. As far as we know, it’s as simple as we aren’t meeting his self-valuation. I’d love him to re-sign. But if the club have the… Read more »
he’d rejoin the Bald One
If Baldie doesn’t win the CL or PL after splurging so much, I doubt he would hang around Man City for long.
Yeah, good point. It’s possible Pep isn’t even coaching next year, the way things go at City.
I agree. People are taking a lot of umbrage over nothing being said more than anything. Leaving on a free would make his wage demands more reasonably achievable by most larger clubs, not just city. Ideal is far from the word to call it, but as far as how this negotiation is seemingly developing, it really doesn’t seem like we have any other option but to let him leave on a free. And so it goes…
Anyway, his ideal season this year would end with “Sanchez almost single-handedly won Arsenal the Europa League and passage back into the Champions League guaranteed, though Arsenal’s finish in the Premier League had already done that”. He’ll work with that as his aim, and may even look forward to winning “another” FA Cup. No matter where he plays, winning stuff and scoring great goals will always be his footballing priority.
Especially if $iteh somehow fail to get into the CL.
Then it’ll be interesting to see if the CL is such an important issue for him, or is it just the money 😀
I wonder if one of them had their leg snapped clean in half with two games to go? And not officially being able to sign for another PL club yet, would we then remove our offer of a contract?
Probably not knowing us, we’d sign them up out of loyalty.
I hate this hanging over us.
I wouldn’t sell Alexis, but I’d be tempted to get rid of Ozil if we could get £50-60mill?
Why get rid of our most creative player ?
Whilst I think replacing Alexis’s 30goals+14assists on the market or from within is near impossible.
Replacing Ozil for Lemar or Kovacic with the cash we generate from his sale I think makes sense, rather than losing him for nothing next summer.
Lemar bagged more goals and more assists than Ozil last season.
Also played as a left sided midfielder in a 4-4-2 so it would suggest he’s got a big more defensive nous.
Its a market, not a supermarket. Lemar and Kovacic might not want to come here. If they were desperate to be here we’d have heard it from them by now.
Lemar bagged more goals and assists than Ozil last season IN LIGUE 1. Not a straight comparison at all.
If you think they are the same then I will happily swap you my $10 Australian for your $10 US.
Keep Alexis for 9 months or buy Lemar for 10 years, the lemma for sustained success is clear in my mind.
Bot
Both I mean
If Lemar were available we’d have bought him. We still might, he’s possibly pushing to join. That purchase won’t mean selling Alexis.
Silva, Bakayoko or Mendy probably wasn’t available for the exact amounts that Chelsea or Coty wanted to pay.
But they made the deals happen anyway.
If there was a real desire to do the deal? Then Lemar would be an Arsenal player by now.
You might have a point if you were saying an earlier pursuit of Lemar might have had Monaco keep, say, Mendy and sold us our man. But early in the summer there were hints of Mbappé, our main target was Lacazette, and the boss was/is probably hopeful he can get the Ox to sign on the dotted before bringing in another midfielder (if Ox sees Lemar come in, there’s no way he signs). Not to mention the boss might have wanted to have a look at his team in an extended training session before he decided to upgrade on a… Read more »
That’s the funny thing though, no team seems to want Ozil. I think he’s great and I’m happy he’s still here – but the difference between him and Alexis is that there hasn’t been any clubs seemingly even linked with Ozil. Makes you wonder.
True observation, Ozil has less than one year in his contract and there is no Bayern, Dormund, Milan, Juventus after him. Is it because of his perceived appearance or lack or effort ? What is it?
Lack of effort ? Do you really watch him playing. One of the most hardworking players in the team
I love Ozil but he doesn’t really fit at most top clubs anymore. Almost no one plays a true number 10 and he’s not really a wide forward either as he’s not a speed based guy who dribbles at people. I just don’t think top teams want to change their entire system to fit him in. He’s great for us and we’re great for him. And no one else will pay him close to what we will so I don’t really get why he hasn’t signed. Maybe he wants to see what our sporting ambition is. I suspect the chances… Read more »
The main reason has gotta be along those lines. Ozil is a player that can complete any attack, but also requires freedom on the pitch to be successful. Arsenal is the only team so far since werder Bremen to grant that degree of freedom. Of course he’s happy here. Doesn’t mean he’s not willing to leave, especially if his renewed contract is going to extend his stay past Wenger’s departure.
I believe this is why Wenger’s renewal went to a contract for two years–to help leverage new deals for ozil and Alexis.
Thier will be long list of clubs wanting him when his contract is up so i doubt hes to worried.
Listen I love the guy and think he’s great for us but I’m not really sure top clubs will be queuing up for him. He doesn’t fit at Madrid thanks to how they play (he’s not going to displace Ronaldo or Bale/Isco). Ditto with Barcelona – their front 3 doesn’t really do defense so they can’t afford to have Ozil in the midfield. He doesn’t really fit in at PSG either given the gazillions of front line players they already have and style of play – add in that they should have serious financial fair play constraints going forward. Bayern… Read more »
His best bet would probably be City – but as much as I love Ozil, Silva is a better player.
I think the reason big clubs don’t want Ozil was shown again last night. Forget the arguments abut his work rate & his languid style. When Ozil gets a chance to score when his team needs a goal badly & the pressure is on he crumbles. For a player with such impeccable technique to continually not strike the ball cleanly in those situations can only be down to one thing : a lack of mental strength. Alexis can handle that pressure, Ozil can’t. That’s why big clubs only want one of them.
Remember Ludogorets away? Talk about the pressure and a need for goal.
Point taken but only a cl group game to be fair….
Last season…Chelsea away, Munich away, cup semi, cup final….over & over it happens.
I think Özil actually is a bit inconsistent when it comes to striking the ball all over the pitch. His strength isn’t technical perfection (Xhaka, Cazorla, even Elneny are probably all better strikers of the ball) but artistic vision. He’s going to see the pass no one else does, and 8/10 times he makes it come off. Since it’s 0/10 for people who don’t see it, that’s hugely valuable.
How many Man U’s are there in this world ?
He hasn’t got a selfish arrogant twat for an agent?
To be fair, no team has said they want Alexis either. Just Bayern and PSG saying he’s too expensive, and persistent rumors about City not backed up with anything by either club or player.
I just don’t get how people can watch a game and not see what Ozil does. There is very few players in the world that can spot a through ball and execute it with such ease like him. Maybe because it looks so easy you don’t appreciate it. We see him week in, week out and don’t really realize how much did he improved defensively. In that regard, the likes of Mahrez and Cesc and many more, are a complete joke! Truth is thay Alexis without his engine and his will does not have alot. Ozil is a natural. Giroud… Read more »
But none of that addresses the point I’m making. If he’s wanting 250k pw he has to be an elite player….and an elite attacking player does not regularly toss away those chances. (regardless of what else he brings to the team)
I agree with you he’s more naturally talented than Alexis….but Alexis is a more important player to have in your team – by far – because he’s ruthless in those situations.
But he does bring alot else to the team. You gotta se that. Even if you are right that he toss chances. Most of the time he just pass it to a teammate in a better position. I don’t necessarily agree that Alexis is more important.
Oh come on, you clearly know I’m not talking about where he passes it to someone else, that’s not relevant in any way to what i’m saying. I’m talking about his shots on goal at big moments; dragged wide or mishit making easy saves for the keeper.
Genuine question : why do you think so many big clubs are after Alexis & none are after Ozil if Alexis isn’t more important?
He actually does pass it to someone else most of the time when he should shoot. But true, he is not a goalscorer and not as clinical as Alexis, nor his job is to be one. Transfer rumour sites haven’t wrote about Ozil, so noone wants him, right? It’s more about Alexis’s wish to be in center of attention, his prima donna status and his agent.
Btw, remember Arsene’s smile and when he said ‘I might have a surprise for you’? Did you hear or read anywhere before that, that Ozil will sign for Arsenal?
I don’t think there have been bids for either of them only agent and paper talk!
We bought him for his passing to somebody else because that is his great strength and what he is known for. Wenger challenged him to add more goals to his repertoire, and he has done that, but that doesn’t make him a striker and Wenger wouldn’t want that anyway. He should not be judged by the number of goals he scores.
It’s a clever stance from the club. If they sign with a buy out clause,they can improve their wages this year by a few million, then move on next year anyway. Arsenal get a fee, the players get a rise and a move. Arsenal win the league, the players change their mind and decide to stay.
Exactly what I was thinking. Though Ozil will probably want to stay as can’t see any club at similar or higher level with us offering him the same money and such a big role. Could be that he is waiting to see if Alexis stays. If Alexis leaves he can probably ask for a higher salary as we wouldn’t want to lose both
I’ve been hoping that too. But I’m not sure it works, as players moving on a free often get big signing on fees, so they actually may get more money not taking a new contract and leaving at the end of the season. Also, Ozil doesn’t seem to have had may clubs interested this summer at his price, so maybe he feels he will have more options if he is moving on a free. I want to keep them, but it’s going to be really embarrassing (and a huge setback) if our two best players both walk away from the… Read more »
“as players moving on a free often get big signing on fees, so they actually may get more money not taking a new contract and leaving at the end of the season.”
True, but since players approaching their 30’s are a Shawcross away from ever playing again, it often makes sense to bank on known salaries and multi-year commitments over the assumed promise of a big pay raise in a year’s time. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.
The massive if is if they sign. No clear intentions from ethier that they are going to do that amd why would they when leave on a free. They can demand huge wages as no transfer fee involved.
The only way they will sign is ozil, we pay him what he wants and sanchez, we pay him what he wants and he believes in the project. Neither is going to happen.
I’m clearly deluded
True, that’s what we all say, but you did make a decent comment this time.
Aren’t we all
The FM in me would have tried to make an Alexis+Ozil+100m deal for Neymar. Or an Aguero plus cash deal for Sanchez from City. Meanwhile, on planet Earth, I think keeping them for their last year for a big title push was the best we could do. Can’t have another RVP situation
Is Ozil really that important, especially in this new formation? I don’t think he is the difference between winning and losing at the top level
Yes he is our most creative player.
Agree I think Welbeck could be at least as good in the right AM role when we need power and speed. Was really impressed by him yesterday and in the Chelsea match
Would rather keep Ozil of course as we need options
You can’t judge Ozil from a tactical point of view. He is not going to be the guy who will give the final ball in this formation. But, he is always a threat inside the box. Ozil is fundamental to the way we want to play football. Alexis again is one of those guys whose playing style is very different to the other players we have. Both of them bring enormous quality to the team and we should keep them. I can’t wait for a game in which Ozil,Alexis,Lacazette,Iwobi,Cazorla and Xhaka feature. It’s a mixture of vision, touch and elegance… Read more »
My sentiments exactly. People seem to think there is bottomless pit of money in football and Arsenal would miss out on this windfall if we don’t cash in on Sanchez and Ozil this summer. The reality which seems to confound the transfer speculators is that we-don’t-need-or-want-to-sell-them. Let us see them all play together for one season they/we might just love it!! As you pointed out we need to strengthen defense we can’t have every team thinking they can succeed against us by simply lumping long balls into the box, we need to discourage them by springing a rock of a… Read more »
A lot of our clever attacking play seems to come from Ozil directly or indirectly
Just look at the key pass statistics, mate.
So I had been feeling like Ozil was more likely to stay, but after hearing Wenger say this it sounds like he’s not sticking around after this season either. Now it sounds like Lamar actually is a replacement strategy.
In other news, Walcott’s new haircut is designed to fool Wenger into thinking he’s already signed Mahrez.
I really like Ozil and I’m glad he’s still here, but something isn’t right with him. Alexis is world class and was chased by a number of clubs – Ozil is world class too but I’ve never seen one link to any other club, which really says something. I think we let him have a very free role in this team, which no other club seems to want to do. I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem right. I can’t envisage a top, top team finding a place for him quite like we have.
You’re forgetting Fenerbache– no?
Fenerbahche can’t afford the salary Ozil wants or is currently on in Arsenal. Turkish clubs get almost “retired” big name players that no big club wants any longer. After Turkey they end up in the Middle East for a year or two…
For the moment, lets forget the media linking players here and there and try to remember when we signed Ozil in 2013 was there any news about him then, anybody chasing his signature? No! We simply could not believe our luck to sign one of the best players in the world in his prime. Nobody said hey why is there no competition for him? If we think nobody wants him now, we should simply thank God and pin him down for another four years. Why complain? Transfers are more complicated than the media makes it out to be. Sanchez has… Read more »
The media making up more stories about Alexis than Ozil only says one thing: it says that Alexis is more popular to talk about in the media. No wonder, he was among the top goal scorers in the EPL last season, and didn’t really feature centrally. But if goals were all teams cared about the top teams would just field 11 strikers.
Maybe Alexis looked so frustrated due to the cold shoulder he was getting from blonde on his right who was leaning away from him first half and gone the second.
She’s just told me he was a bit creepy.
That is his girl friend. There are also pictures of them laughing together.
whoosh. 😉
Always amuses me when you tell the truth and get thumbs down
Missing out on a potential £100m in transfer fees on players that will take £200m next summer to replace doesn’t seem very clever to me.
We’re taking a massive gamble and after looking at our defence and open midfield last night and the fact we won’t be signing reinforcements in those positions until there are a number of departures, it’s a decision that could have major long term ramifications.
This team is still double digits away from being champions.
the problem is sanchez has priced himself out of a move to anyone but man city and we simply can’t sell to them. his wage demands are so high (Bayern confirmed it) that he is asking for over 2.5 times what the highest paid player makes at Juventus or Bayern = most likely continental destinations. our only realistic option appears to be city and we simply cannot sell to them. ozil seemingly is generating no interest at all and I think we can convince him to stay. I wish we would just go ahead and try to get lemar now… Read more »
It’s a difficult situation no doubt about it, but i’d sell Alexis to City for the right money i don’t get the strengthening a rival angle, it displays a lack of confidence in our own ability. Alexis or Ozil may be the best players we currently have but i don’t even think there the best players we’ve had in the last 10 years let alone in our history. I’m never against selling as long as you buy better, and this is something we’ve just stopped doing, instead, to me a least we look petty and possessive. Holding on to players… Read more »
Alexis hasn’t even mentioned wages or even spoken about joining another club. It’s all media speculation and lies
The head of Bayern came out and said what Alexis quoted them for wages. Pretty sure that’s not made up as it’s directly from their head
As he is not for sale there could not be any negotiations so how would he be able to know about his salary. All media lies.
It’s pretty naive to think clubs don’t negotiate with agents before bidding for players
Could it be that Mert injured, Kos suspended, Gabriel injured and Mustafi not quite ready.
How can Wenger finally admit his contract issues last season affected the team, and then think the situation with Sanchez, Ozil and Ox won’t?!
Especially when you consider we missed Champions League football by one point!
Until they sign… Ozil is happy to stay but we still haven’t got the extension and there is a danger of losing him for free. Ditto of course Alexis and Ox, Ramsey too I believe I think the agents and players benefit elongating the process. Some of it is outside the club’s control. The way contracts are done, at normally 5 years duration, you are really looking at 3 years in before we have contract negotiations again for extensions. If the player is performing significantly and can attract interest from other clubs, the player/agent will stretch out negotiations to put… Read more »
Footbalistaclly, in a short term basis, this sounds great and re assuring. But again, the future of the two looks bleak. But why cant the sign???? Ffs.
i thought and have thought for a long time that ozil has been very poor. he had a nice moment for sure but for the disparity in wage he is asking for to other midfielders, i think he is nowhere near worth it. he was carried for much of the game, outshone by other midfielders and looked entirely unambitious. i appreciate others may feel differently but it feels like you adfix star to player and the player gets so much more a free pass. i loved yesterdays game but id have had iwobi on for ozil if i could. because… Read more »
Ozil worked as hard as anyone on the field and made some telling contributions. Iwobi shows great promise but is nowhere in his class
It was actually a pretty funny interview. Another invincible year will soften them! COYG!
seriously getting tired of this ”Oil is lazy and lacks effort” narrative which is needed by the media, and most of us seem to buy into it too easily. His movement off and on the ball is superb, creates space and chances for team mates. Is always among those who have covered most ground, created most chances and completed most passes! Strange that such a player is called LAZY !!!
get a grip guys, and get behind the team !!!
Spot on!
Aye, I’ve given up caring for the most part. Most observers are simply too dumb to see/realise what he’s doing out there.
I get the impression that a lot of supporters really don’t understand the game at all…
and a lot of them believe the media….
It’s a double whammy…
Exactly. There are some pretty short-sighted fans about. Its all very well getting excited about the guy running in to take a shot, but while he’s doing that there are 10 other players in the team whose movement affects how many of the opposition players are free to stand in the shooter’s way. When Ozil isn’t putting in that final assist he’s floating around in the vicinity looking like Ozil. That may not be much to the fans who hate him, but it is a BIG factor in the heads of the opposition defence. Meanwhile another “lazy” bastard, Walcott, is… Read more »
Both Alexis and Mesut take some risks as well – they might get injured during the season or have a lousy one … but they still could always go to China or USA of course
They’re both a bit young for that.
They’d also get bore quickly with low standard of football played in either of those leagues.
But if their only interest is money or an easy life then it could happen.
There is word going around today that Ozil wants his agent contacting Barcelona about moving there this Summer, but doubt the veracity of it. As long as Wenger and the board are willing to invest more money to find proper replacements next Summer should both leave on free transfers that’s great, but I do worry that we will lose potentially three strong players with no revenue to reinvest next Summer. I love Ozil and Alexis being part of the squad and love watching them play, but also worry about the constant distraction that both players’ situations will cause all year… Read more »
Applaud we must. ?
After watching the match on Arsenal player, MO11 was at fault for the first goal, he seemed preoccupied, if he at least harried Albrighton but he sort of ran a bit, his mistake led to the corner, don’t seem that happy to me.
I hear quite a lot of ‘fans’ complain about anything and everything. For the record, apart from Arsene’s stubbornness (proved by our results after he changed to playing 3 at the back) and maybe the contract situation, fans are to blame for many of our below par performances of late, and last season in particular, with all the whining and jabs at players and coach. Like someone hinted earlier, I’d prefer for any true fan to buckle up and get behind the team!
Really nice to see that footballing decisions are trumping financial ones. Yes, it seems a little irrational; no, no other ‘top’ club would do this either; but this was the biggest doubt hanging over Kroenke – is he just in it for the money? Maybe so, but the fact he’s willing to let ~£100m worth of player walk for free next year, just because Wenger wants to have them for another year, is a pretty damn good indication that he’s at least not trying to rinse Arsenal for every pound we have.