According to James Olley, writing in the Evening Standard, some Arsenal players were unhappy that Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez failed to show up at the training ground last month to carry out commitments to sponsors and media partners.
The club’s line is that the players were ill, but Sanchez played against Doncaster in the Carabao Cup the night previously, and there was no mention of the German being ill at an Arsene Wenger press conference that morning.
Sanchez has been present in the team since, playing against West Brom and Brighton, while Ozil was given 8 minutes as a sub against Tony Pulis’ side then ruled out of action until after the international break with a reported knee injury.
Evidence of their absence is clear as the players modeled the official team suits, this season sponsored by Cavallaro Napoli.
With reports this morning linking Ozil with a move to Manchester United, this report will only add to the widely-held belief that neither will extend their deals with the club.
It remains to be seen how Arsene Wenger manages the situation in terms of team selection, particularly for difficult away games when perhaps some creativity needs to be sacrificed for hard-work and organisation.
I’ve been at peace with both not extending for a while now.
Also have no aspirations for a PL title challenge.
Anything is a bonus.
Hopefully Europa and one or two of the domestic cups open up nicely for us.
#KroenkeOut
Spot on
I think both of these lads are 100% leaving on a free at the end of the season.
It will kill me when it happens, but I genuinely think there is a lot of weight to the United move for Ozil. Then obviously the City move for Alexis.
We’ve been here so many times before, and sadly, there seems to be no end to it with the current regime in charge.
Even if the ultimate footballing miracle happens and we somehow manage to jam our way to this seasons Premier League title. I still think both players would leave.
I’d bite your hand off for Europa League and one or two domestic cups
I completely agree. I am looking forward to going to the stadium more this season when I get the chance with the lack of expectation.
I am a believer that Wenger cannot do anymore than he has done and at least until he goes, nothing will change. But ultimately it could be the same forevermore under Kronke…
@Mr J Bull I am exactly the same – I just can’t get excited about Arsenal under Arsene Wenger, and under the current regime anymore. I totally respect what Arsene has done for the club. I will never ever bad mouth the guy in the ground, or outside it, but he has done everything he can for this football club. We will not win anything of genuine merit under his management again. Its too stale, and its too outdated, and that goes for all of the coaching staff as well. We are having this conversation in October, which is our… Read more »
I don’t think it falls on Wengers head, it’s down to Kroenke. Roman Abramlvic does not accept mediocrity and the same goes for United and city’s owners. They do not accept a summer without strengthening the side, and if they don’t see their teams challenging for the title then you can bet your life that big changes will be made to to the playing staff and the coaching staff. It’s their ambition to have a successful team because they understand that will in turn help them become more profitable. We have a dumbass American who plans on making as much… Read more »
The issue is not that we did not strengthen. We added two excellent players in Lacazette and Kolasinac. Neither of which were David Dein assisted…in fact Dick Law did the contracts. BUT did we add enough? We use to be 2 or 3 players away from competitive, you feel we are 1 player off these days which makes it all the more frustrating. I’m not sure its an issue of the owner. He’s just a businessman and frankly I prefer he stayed out of anythingelse. It makes sense he doesn’t wade into a sport he really has little knowledge on… Read more »
I can’t bring myself as a supporter not to have premier league title aspirations. However, agreed that Ozil and Sanchez are unlikely to sign, and frankly for Ozil a 2-3 year extension at 250K odd pounds a week looks like bad business.
Why would united want ozil i personally rate him highly.but i cant see ozil getting on board with having to track back.and they have mata,mikitaraen and pogba could play there.
He wont have to at United as the thier manager would not except a rampant Ramsey doing as he likes.
Ozil will do what hes does best and create for others. At United he will flourish as players are given instruction and told what to do and when. At arsenal it just seems a free for all at times
I rec’d this but want to second it. Ozil is a 10, and a brilliant one. I don’t like Mourinho but he is not sentimental and he knows how to set up a side to win. If Ozil goes there Mourinho will get more out of him than Wenger does, and Ozil knows that. It is an utter waste to put Ozil out on the wing.
Sign me Yannick Carassco and Leon Groveland, and let them go. They have done there quota
Yes Leon Groveland is quality
Who’s Leon Groveland? I’m a missing something or a football hipster ‘in the know’ type something?
Come on Arsene, put us in a Groveland Wonderland.
Liverpool treble? :/
What’s three shots of meths in a chipped mug got to do with anything said here?
There is nothing wrong with them leaving the Club. Done their part, earned their part, good luck.
The problem is they’re leaving on free, that’s the big issue and why are we letting this happen.
In the Summer Arsenal fans repeatedly voted in polls that they would prefer Sanchez go for free than sell him.
The club’s not exactly short of money. I’d rather watch a better team than watch Kroenke pad his balance sheet.
Sell them in January
This is an interesting one… I love you blogs, I really do, but the Evening Standard’s entire article was based around one unsubstantiated sentence that “some players privately voiced their annoyance”… Hardly the most solid of evidence. We do know they weren’t there, but we have absolutely no insight as to why, and to throw this story to the baying sharks that are in these comments sections was always going to whip them into a frenzy. I’m hesitant to use the words click bait… as I have the utmost respect for this site and its approach to news. But this… Read more »
Defintely not click bait, and the story is definitely true – which is why we ran it. They just didn’t turn up.
Any chance of a quote from anyone? Or some sort of proof that there’s dissension in the team? Anything other than a tabloid’s claim?
Theres onw from Djourou, he said:
“All I had to do was to not show up? Oh wtf!!”
Probably can’t reveal sources. Seeing as he broke the Kroenke attempts to buyout Usmanov story, I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.
That’s very interesting and worrying indeed. Any more light anyone can shed? Can’t imagine the BFG or any of our sponsors we’re impressed?!
Most of us know you dont do clickbait (unless its a joke).
Thats the reason, when I hear a rumor, I check Arseblog.
If its not on here within a short while, its usually rubbish.
Is that Debuchy in the back row?
So we have 242 negative supporters.
I’m only torn between laughing and sighing, because I can’t tell if the tone is optimistic/pessimistic.
I’ve accepted their decisions not to sign with us also, and I don’t have any big expectations for us this season either. But seeing Ozil go to united next summer and Sanchez to city will literally make me sick. What ungrateful pieces of shit.
I don’t think it would be ungrateful. They signed contracts with Arsenal thru’ summer 2018, after that they are free to go wherever they choose after that. If they go to Citeh and United (and we don’t know yet that they will) it will be disloyal and we can boo them, but it’s not ungrateful. The real culprits here are the management and ownership at Arsenal for not addressing their contract situations in a more proactive way. But let’s face it, we’ll carry on after they leave just like we did after Vierra, Henry, Cesc and VanCunty left. We will… Read more »
Ungrateful? This is professional football. If you don’t like that then you should go back and find a amateur league team to support where players just stay forever.
Even if they are worth it or not what they are allegedly being offered. It is pretty sad that Arsenal seems to be 1-2 years behind the market especially for a big club. What they are allegedly being offered is what they were asking for at least summer ’16.
Rich – Couldn’t have said it better myself.
I have been encouraged at how Ramsey and now Iwobi have adapted to their roles without Ozil. As much as I love watching Ozil play, if he is going to leave, sell him in January to avoid a Man U switch. Bayern? Vidal would do just fine in a make- believe swap.
Looking forward, I happen to like our youngsters over the crop we had 5-6 years ago. Lansbury? JET? Vela etc… They all seem dynamic for their specific positions, confident on the ball and mature players beyond their years.
Just sell both of them if they are no longer interested to stay and play for us. Always remember that no one man is bigger than Arsenal. It’s truth that we have to start searching for replacement and start the gelling all over again. But we are already out of champions league. So what better time than now or next season to start afresh.
I don’t see the point of Sanchez and Özil to not be present. If they don’t obey the commercial duties, they can be financially punished. But i see the point of the media and the club starting propaganda to make their leaving acceptable for the fans. Wenger repeated they must respect their contracts, but all start to make them leave. Respecting contract is also valuable for clubs, not only for players.
It doesn’t reflect well upon either of them, and is pretty easy to believe that their teammates were miffed.
Shame for them but if they want an unfavourable Arsenal legacy then they are going about it in the right way.
Yeah. All those players who left us and are now balls deep in an endless conveyor belt of trophies must look back with such sadness of how they ruined their Arsenal legacy. Some people want statues, far more want silverware.
All those three players or who exactly you are talking about here?
Can’t see why Ozil should leave with a favourable legacy anyway. Yeh he was talented but he never justified the money we spent on him. Forget the stats hype, he disappeared on too many of the occasions when we needed him. Should have sold him two years ago
Agreed,, ozil never really shone for arsenal like he did at Madrid apart from one good season,, think he had more than one good season at Madrid, not sure,
I can’t excuse what happened here but he has been nothing but a professional since he’s come to Arsenal. Plus who cares about legacy? We are talking about a 5 year player not some 8-10 year player.
Again its not Ozil v ManC or ManU or Che lol He’s not a goal scorer. Never was. Never will be. He’s great a creating chances and assist. Its unfortunate he’s never had players that can regularly score goals.
I also doubt very much that a 27 year old Thierry Henry would stay at a 2017 Arsenal.
That’s the larger point most seem to fail to see. None of Henry, Vieira or Bergkamp would have been content the way things are going. Right now we’re a sinking ship and there is no strategy or plan in place beyond this season.
You know the saying like Rat’s leaving a sinking ship.
Well, no point in drowning, is there?
Haha a 27 year old Thierry Henry in our team right now, would make us champions. No?
They signed a contract, they’re seeing out that contract, don’t see much of a problem there
Why does everyone believe we are a sinking ship? Last season we had a terrible run which cost us 2-3 places in the league for the seasons before we came in second and we have partially addressed our player problems.
People acting like we barely avoided relegation….
In my eyes it’s very simple.
Going back 10 years, and every year we were expected to challenge for the title – that was our ambition.
Going back what, 7 years or so, Wenger started with the ‘4th is a trophy’, and slowly that became our expectations and ambition.
Last year we failed that, and now many fans don’t even see us making 4th this season.
I wouldn’t say we’re a sinking ship, but the way our ambitions and expectations are gradually declining year after year is extremely worrying.
Easy, our superstars are leaving and we’re not able anyone that will be a readymade replacement. No agent will let his client sign on or extend their contracts as long as we’re in the situation we’re in. That leaves us in a standstill while hemmorraging talent. If we don’t make it back into the CL, we’ll not be considered a top tier club anymore and then we can really kiss our chances to sign Lemar, Goretzka or Rabiot goodbye. So then we have a team without Özil and Sanchez, players like Ramsey in their last year of their contracts and… Read more »
I would say arsenal as a club in the prem era have signed 3 superstars. Bergkamp ozil and Sanchez. The rest we have made into superstars and arguably you could include Sanchez in that as he was never a superstar at Barca a star yeah but he was really highlighted and talked about as being a great after he signed for us.
Not saying I don’t want us to sign superstars but that doesn’t mean we can’t make it without them.
Also depends how things turned out, Rosicky and Arshavin were not made at Arsenal, they were at least stars, if not “super” stars before they came. Rosicky got injured and Arshavin got fat, but Arsenal did not make them.
Add Cazorla, when we signed him he was widely considered the best midfielder in la Liga not playing for Barca.
From my perspective, the issue is that the Prem is increasingly top-heavy. What was previously a battle for four CL spots amongst (realistically) six clubs, is now a battle for one, possibly two spots. Massive spend on not only superstars but also depth will keep the Manchester teams at or near the top. Chelsea seems a touch more restrained but certainly have a will to go for it (inexplicable Matic sale notwithstanding.) It’s essentially Arsenal, Spurs, and Liverpool fighting for the fourth CL slot. In terms of being top-heavy the EPL is looking a lot like La Liga and the… Read more »
Totally agree. You can split the “top” 6 into 2 groups. The filthy rich that don’t care about debt ManC and U with Chelsea and then there is Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham. How much longer does Tottenham stay in that group will be interesting to see since some of their players are going to want more money and get interest from wealthier clubs.
I think its exciting since most games are competitive but I agree you can see spending and wages increasing from the elite compared to the next level down and next level down from there.
Yeah I cant see the sinking ship rhetoric from a match point of view. But from the ownership point of view…. its really starting to submerge.
Its not where you finish necessarily that people have a problem with. Its how they get there. There is a huge difference between fighting for the title all season and failing at the end and finishing in the top 4 and fighting for top 4 without a chance to really make a difference at the end of the season.
Problem is going to a rival club seeing them play better than they did for us, and probably score against us to,, which is just to much,, they need to go abroad
Disagree. Alexis appeared to give his all against BHA. That’s how i’ll judge his legacy.
Can we still sell Ozil?
on ebay?
yes, we can sell him in January, other wise he can go for free in the summer
Only to premier league clubs, or desperate foreigners as the foreign clubs can come in for him to join them in the summer for free in january
Why wouldn’t any club that has money not want to buy Alexis or Ozil at a discount in Jan? They are most importantly not cup tied since Arsenal isn’t in CL. How often do players of their caliber come on the market durring the Jan transfer window at a discount where they can help with domestic league and CL.
Why would Sanchez or Ozil want to give up millions in signing on fees?
It would be made up on the wages given to the player. Of course I’m not saying they would leave on transfer for below cost wages compared what they can get on the market in the summer.
my point was more clubs whom cannot wait until next summer for them will buy them.
although that doesn’t mean they will sign.
If psg offer them both a pre-contract in january, and a chinese club offer to buy them both in january with much improved contract offers then they could choose to stay to play at PSG for the glory instead of the money in china so to speak.
Obviously, they’re still under contractual obligations and should undertake their duties accordingly. However, they’re both off in the summer and the sooner we can come to terms with recruiting a Sanchez replacement; don’t need one for Ozil, the better.
Ideal replacements for those two; any two of Lemar,Draxler or Kingsley Coman.
Plus any quality Bayern/Bundesliga player we can tempt with cash. Bayern have a rigid wage structure.
But we’ve got some talented young players. I feel the effect of continental coaching approaches will pay dividends for the club, and the kids who’ve had seven to nine years of something different in youth coaching.
If Wilshere stays, no pressing need for Serri – closest thing to Santi. Santi is sooooo sick.
Muller would be a welcome addition…could better Sanchez’s numbers.
The problem is that most German players want to play for BM. Why wouldn’t you want to if you are German to be able to stay in Germany and play for the best club in your country. I can see players leaving if BM already has a player in your position and you really want to play. Players like Kroos and Ozil are rare that they leave Germany even if if BM wanted you. For example I guess Goretzka is on his last year. I can’t believe club like Shalke allows this to happen. I mean they let it happen… Read more »
Lol sure only reason Lemar was an option because of Sanchez transfer fee now that you can only probably get half that to none if he walks for free you can’t get Lemar. Draxler or KC as a replacement for Sanchez? you gotta be kidding.
Carassco and Draxler for of them is ok
It ain’t happening. Why on earth would Draxler come to Arsenal at this point?
Stick both the twats in the reserves until the end of the season, then let them both dwindle away their careers as also rans in Manchester, the arsehole of Engand.
They’re not team players and that’s what we need.
Hate them as much as you like but not to call them team players is ridiculous. Did you watch Alexis on Sunday?
Alexis was playing for himself. It was a great assist bit one brilliant backheel doesn’t make you a team player. Watch the match again and he was constantly trying to play Hollywood passes and taking ridiculous shots when he could have passed to a team mate. And in my book, not turning up for a team photo is pissing on your team mates. You’d have to be close to death for that to be excusable. I mean all you have to do is turn up, put some clothes on and have your photo taken. I wish that was my fucking… Read more »
Totally agree with you. Sanchez doesn’t care anymore which I understand, just wish the little fucker had been sold in the summer. His gurney fucking face annoys the shit out of me and to see him being selfish and cocky on the pitch and showing no where near the same enthusiasm as last season is just going to do more damage than good. Fucking hope welbz is back soon so sanchez gets benched.
Keep him away from the team altogether and watch Ozil get miraculously fit again. It’s clear to me, Mesut has a problem with him.
Interesting theory! It would explain a few things perhais. Anything to back it up?
I have watched the match again and I think you are completely wrong. (By the way, trying to play Hollywood passes doesn’t sound selfish to me–it might be stupid, but it’s an attempt to put a teammate into a dangerous position.) He took a couple of shots that were unlikely to score–but they were instead of passing the ball back, not instead of playing in a better-placed teammate. I saw him constantly truing to pass to teammates, mostly with intelligent passes, too many of which misfired–but that’s not selfishness. As for as this terrible sin of “not turning up for… Read more »
Them not turning up hurts the club too. Do we really think that cavallaro napoli was pleased that the clubs two marquee players failed to show up for their publicity/marketing photo shoot? Their brand wants to be associated with the best and as much as we like the Jeff, they would have preferred Alexis wearing their suit than him.
On the other hand who cares if arsenal lose sponsorship money as a result if it goes towards lining kronke’s pockets anyway
2016/2017 Sanchez was involved in 35 league goals (24 goals, 11 assists), which is more than double any other arsenal player.
Look at the assists – are you going to count the one for Girouds Scorpion? His was the only shite cross in the whole move.
Massive impact. BUT the intangible is he also provides for the unpredictable which is difficult to find. Its a very South American trait and it makes us that more dangerous and in some sense forgives his poorer elements giving the ball away when trying take ons.
I agree with you.
People tend to get too emotional with these things.
Alexis makes things happen for us.
Its foolish to think we are better without Alexis or even Ozil.
Even if we have Iwobi playing well, we need Ozil. We simply need options and depth. We need all our midfield to be at top level for us to have any chance in winning the league.
AND Alexis provides us the catalyst because he is one of the few players that does the unpredictable. Otherwise its side to side passing and so easy to defend against us.
Hahahahahaha, Mr blinkered!
I don’t think anyone can say ‘fair enough’ if we end up losing our two best players to our two biggest rivals. Strengthening opposition without them having to even pay us for the pleasure is a new low. I’m attempting the good humour tactic these days and it’s definitely working in some respects but it’s going to be really hard to laugh this one off if it comes to fruition.
I can’t help feel that both are going for same reason RVP left, don’t like the way the club is heading.
Totally agree String. Although at least back then we were told we had to sell until we reached this golden era when all debts were settled and we could compete financially with any team in the world. And then we started turning profits again…
Plus we’ll be getting the news next summer that Ramsey won’the extend and that Koscielny won’the be able to start many games anymore. The wheels are coming off and it’seems truly depressing.
Our two biggest rivals? Didn’t realise we were selling them to West Brom and Watford!
Nah, we’ll finish 6th. I thought 7th at the start of the season but Everton didn’t buy a striker so are shit.
I think we’ll finish above Liverpool, they’re too erratic, and with their European commitments and their shit defence this year, I don’t see them as too big a threat.
Then there’s Chelsea, I think they’ll really struggle now with Morata injured for 1+ month. Plus, we saw in the City game how the tough Champions League matches midweek will affect them. Reckon we’ll battle it out with them for 4th.
All in all, I don’t think we’ll finish 6th. 5th, hopefully 4th is more realistic in my opinion.
City are also without Aguero.
Too early to tell.
Chelsea last season had a poor start, remember we beat them …before they went on a run and look where they ended up.
Why so pessimistic.
If the team had the same mental fortitude as some of our fans here, we would win nothing, not even FA cup 3 times in last 4 seasons.
“Too early to tell” – absolutely!
Same goes for the Manchester clubs and how everyone is saying that one of them will win the title this year..
Last year at this stage, City had won 10 games in a row (I think), 6 in the PL, and everyone was saying they’d go on to win the title. Well, they ended up in 3rd, 15 points behind the champions!
And above them twats down the road of course!
Chiiil Winston.
The gears are turning for a January shuffle. We can still get something for them.
I want any player who doesn’t want to be with us to be sold, I’d rather play youngsters even if they cost us points, fed up of massaging egos of overpaid footballers, fook em any ways, play for the badge, the shirt , the fans or go away.
Agreed 10/10
Ditto.
I think you’re totally missing the point of why these players want to leave… Such a Brexit point of view.
Well kroenke isn’t going anywhere MB so get used to it.
Neither is Wenger and he’s the one who consistently plays players totally out of position, lacks any tactical awareness, has a totally arbitrary transfer policy and puts out teams on a regular basis which get embarrassed by the opposition. I know we’ve all found a new villain now for our woes but let’s not forget that this stuff was happening a long time before Stan arrived.
I remember when he played Kolo Toure and Thierry Henry out of position. No tactical awareness at all.
Please don’t turn football into politics. Thanks a lot
Sorry, that wasn’t my intention. I’m just highlighting this stubborn and self destructive attitude of making things worse for ourselves through some sort of misguided pride and passion. Maybe instead of dismissing our best players as turncoats we should look to see why they want to leave and try to address that.
You think we are the only club on the planet who have high maintenance players with big egos? And sorry to disappoint but all these golden children, Lemar, Draxler, Carassco… that we are banding around as replacements will have huge egos which need massaging too.
Totally agree with that point my friend
unfortunately, for either side of the argument, all this is purely hypothetical. How about instead of neurotically trying to reason the assumptive madness that it is being a fan, we just enjoy what we can–hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Describing what either might be shouldn’t require namecalling or fighting. We’re all in this fucking boat, whether it is sinking or stagnating, whatever it might be. Cheers.
You might be right but it.s been clear for over a year that they want out. Regardless of their reasons they should both have been sold this summer.
Does any player really want to be at Arsenal if they have the option of joining a better team?
Of course not. All these names bandied about, Goretzka, Rabiot, we habe zero chance of signing, Lemar also. Next summer we will see our two superstar players leave on a free, players will wait and see what happens, so we will get no real replacement. Same goes for Ramsey and the other players with ending contracts.
Both these players should have been off loaded in the summer but we have a manager more interested in saving face than winning trophies.
We’ve got a season (or at least until January) with 2 half interested players and we’re going to be out of pocket to the tune of £100m+ as well. Expect mouths of stories about the destabilising effects of these 2 and next summer we’ll hear Wenger tell us how it caused disruption in the squad which is why we finished outside the champions league places again, all very predictable.
Spot on
If we had sold them am sure you would still come here and complain…
No, i said throughout the summer and before that we should sell them
Arsene was in a no win situation. If he offloaded Ozil and Sanchez to manc and manu people would be here right now criticising him for that. Strengthening the opposition etc
The mistake was not providing a team that could convince Ozil and Sanchez to sign new deals.
The summer we resigned Arteta, Rosicky and Flamini when they were all past it was when the mistake took place not this summer.
John C, almost always disagree with you, but credit where credit is due: right there my friend, you absolutely nailed it.
I am a fan of Ozil- the precision passer, the cherry on the cake of a team built around him. We have never been this for him. We have never set up just to let him float around at No 10 and create chances for others. And if we aren’t going to do that (and it is a bit late now to start) then he is an expensive luxury. I would prefer we did not rush to offer he or Sanchez (who at least puts a shift in) record breaking contracts. I would rather we went out and found a… Read more »
ozil has been a luxury from day one, sanchez and ozil are gone, they are history, move on
I.d also add that having a floaty number 10 who does not offer much of a goal threat is a luxury in itself. Bergkamp, Kaka etc managed to combine creativity with goalscoring. Ozil is just not anywhere near that level for me. He is another one dimensiinal player indulged to the point of obscurity..much like Theo
You mean a player who is unselfish. Wants to help with buildup, breaking down defenses and creating chances.
Yes I agree I would love to see him take more shots. I personally think he has the qualities to be a decent goal scorer. I just don’t feel like he wants that. Thats where AW needs to drill that in him to take more shots.
The problem with that is what is Arsenal then? Are we really goign to compete seriously with the bigger spending clubs or compete with Monaco and Dortmund with the model they use? The risk of goign after young “hungry” players is that they are unproven. You don’t know what you’ll get and if they end up being bad then you end in deep shit lol Of course we can get lucky and end up where Monaco was this past season and reap crazy rewards. you can’t expect to keep the players once they get big since they will only think… Read more »
Al Gilmore – spot on. I’ve been saying this very thing from the beginning.
The Ozil project failed because Wenger choose not to sufficiently invest in it. Maybe he thought that he could buy a world-class playmaker and surround him with ‘good’ players and that would be enough. However Real Madrid and the German national team also contain world-class players on a par with Ozil.
If Wengers/ Arsenal weren’t prepared to make the investment and bring in genuinely world class talent, there was no point in purchasing Ozil.
Am i the only one who noticed that Sanchez did not seem to bother during the BHA game? Yeah, his assist for Iwobi was great but his body language was terrible.
His assist was lucky that Iwobi read it!
Ozil is class don’t get me wrong but since he joined his magic has often come with form which is not always consistent. Am I wrong in thinking Ozil is replaceable?
Sanchez is a different matter I have to say.
They’re both replaceable. Everyone is.
Full disclosure I’ve had it with Alexis’ primadonna act since mid last season, and now I’ve had it with both of them.
We haven’t needed Ozil the last bunch of matches, and we should be working on matches without Alexis either. Send them to the Bendtner training facility.
That makes perfect sense, reject a club record fee (for alexis at least), and then not use him and let him leave on a free.
I didn’t reject the signing fee – but just the same it came in far too late for us to use the funds so City and Alexis can do one about that. If we can’t or won’t use the funds he’s more use to us rotting on the couch than at a strong rival. Use him how and when we want and he can eat the rest.
We have to play them now we’ve nailed our flag to the we’re-not-selling-because-we’re-more-interested-in-results-than-money mast, otherwise we should have sold them
We haven’t needed Sanchez either
Great logic. BFC Koln, Chelsea, Doncaster, WBA, BATE and BHA.
Of course everyone is replaceable. Thank you for stating the obvious and taking it out of context. What did you expect that the poster meant play Sanchez until he dies? lol
Its a shame if they behaved that way, but what do you expect from players earning ludicrous amounts just to kick a ball? Not professionalism, surely.
Dunno why people keep blaming Wenger when no bid came for ozil and shitty waited till less than 24hrs to box us into a corner. Weaken us and prevent us from getting a replacement.
Both players can leave for free or something for all i care. They clearly don’t care for the club, we are just another platform. That’s the sad reality of modern football.
Players come, players go arsenal remains
Most players are just passing through, some become legends to the fans, some become reviled, I’m frankly more interested in who the club have lined up to replace them and if those replacements are new signings or internal solutions?
The problem is so much is out of the hands of the club. There isn’t much they can do if the player and agent decides to stall. And considering prices these days, it pays to stall. People go on about our kitty and how much we have in the bank but who could predict the increase in prices this summer? We may well need to have correctly reserved the extra dosh to pay for future replacements next summer (hopefully the market cools) I think the club could have done something perhaps with the Ox early two summers ago when Gnabry… Read more »
No its only out of the clubs hands if they let that happen. They could have easily let the rest of Europe know Ozil and Sanchez are for sell summer ’16 since they didn’t want to sign new contracts. Matter would have been dealt and over with. AW and Arsenal were too scared to take care of business because of what that would have meant to the image of Arsenal. Everyone knew that prices would increase this summer. Let me tell you now so we all can understand that prices will increase next summer. Lemar for 90M? we can only… Read more »
Anybody could have predicted the increase in prices this summer!!! It was as clear as day follows night. Only an idiot couldn’t have seen it coming which is precisely why many of us have had serious issues with the clubs bank balance over the years. And there’s plenty you can do if a player doesn’t sign a new contract with 12 months to go (or in our case 24) and that is you sell them. You tell the player they’ll never play for the club again and to pack their bags. The problem is of course is we have half… Read more »
Well if Ozil isn’t worth anythign because no bids came in why not just pay him and release him. He ins’t contributing now according to some. Let him sit there in the open market and see if no clubs will be interested in him lol
I’m gonna miss our magical Chilean but not too bothered about the German dude. I found that we’re more balanced with Iwobi in the side.
Iwobi over Ozil? Pretty sure I heard Robbie Savage saying that too…
Just bench the pair of the all season. That’s what I would do.
Pair of soppy bollocks.
Play Ozil drop sanchez, to Chile for all I care.
“belief that neither will extend their deals with the club”?
I thought it was beyond obvious at this stage?
(It was clear the summer before last as far as I could tell – why everyone goes on about “why didn’t we offer contracts before?” is nonsense – they were offered extensions ages ago).
Anyone who expects loyalty from players theses days is a fool. This is business and at the end of the day players have to do what they think is best for them. It’s the same when clubs and fans decide players are’t good enough for the club and decide to get rid of them. Having said that, Ozil should be begging for a new contract not the other way around.
I think the other thing to consider is Lacazette and Alexis partnership must be given a bit of time to flourish. IF they strike a good partnership and we go on to win something big, it may very well change Alexis’ sentiments about the club/management and he may extend. Ozil is slightly more expendable but Alexis has ability that isn’t so easily replicated. The players out there who can replace him have also options with other suitors who may jump in should they know we are also in the hunt to commit that signature. One has to also remember we… Read more »
Time to flourish for what reason. Alexis should be moved for whatever you can get in Jan. Hopefully 20-25M to a club like PSG or City. Why would they? Maybe make a push for CL since Alexis isn’t cup tied. Imagine adding a Sanchez in January for one of these clubs. Not bad.
Lol its not if he will get what he’s asking for from Arsenal. He will get something close from a next tier down club or one of the big clubs will give him nice wage.
Iwobi looks funny in a suit.
That’s all.
So many people on here need to chill out. So negative about something they have zero control over..just chill out and let it all happen. I loved the days when people would just enjoy the footy and not argue about it online like a bunch of school kids but that’s probably just me being a really old 35 year old
Me too. I can’t shift the feeling that if the players/club are going to get miffed over these two not turning up they should concentrate on those occasions when this happens on the pitch rather than in front of a photographer.
Going to be an ongoing issue all year with the two of them I am afraid. We can just hope that they put forth full effort on the pitch when they play and they are not being distractions off of the field (there will be enough distraction with the constant talk of their leaving throughout the year in the media).
so what if they never turned up, theres no need to get the hump about it
Hope we manage to sell both of them in january. Knowing stan and how he works we’ll need to fund replacemebt ourselves…. otherwise its gonna be internal solutions once again…ram and iwobi replacing them…
I think we may attempt to offload at least one in January because if we leave it to summer, we lose on both. Also we have a number of positions to look into next summer (Cback, midfield, CF, fullback) so we would do well to reduce our work load. Much depends on how motivated certain other teams are to relinquish their peripheral players. To watch PSG. IF they should falter before January and feel they need to muster more ambition from market, we may be able to do a deal with them for a number of their top players who… Read more »
Lol falter by Jan? They are going to cruise through their group stage in CL. They are going to cruise through and dominate the Ligue1.
Same with BM right. What if they falter before Jan? maybe we can get convince them to sell to us to? lol
Nothing wrong with them seeing out their contract for a Bosman, but it is the club at fault. Players not committed to the club should always be moved on for the good of the team. My only hesitation is that rarely do the club get on with replacing them and are slow at recruitment.
They should but it also depends on how much equivalent capability can be sought for. Considering last summer’s prices, it may have been better to keep existing abiliuty. Also one must consider too many changes may also have affect on start of season (as is we let our transfer issues affect us with that Liverpool loss but got back on track quickly enough) One should not over amplify the issues with Ozil and Alexis and get too dramatic over it. BOTH players are still top quality who have profound influence on the team when they play. Last match, Alexis provided… Read more »
Or basically 1-2 summers behind market values. We should have offered what we are offering now to them last summer and it would be done with either way. Either they accept and move forward together or go their separate ways.
I’d be perfectly alright with Ozil never playing for us again. I have no doubt about his skill or even his effort really, but he never seemed a very good fit for this league. I think we’re better off with someone more bothersome in the side. Especially if he’s marginally committed.
We absolutely need to replace Sanchez. He is our equivalent of Chelsea’s Hazard, PSG’s Neymar, Barcelona’s Messi (not saying he is as good as these players, just the role he plays for us). Özil… meh. Just get in a world class midfielder and go back to a 3 men balanced midfield. I think the Chelsea match showed us what balance and hard work can do.
Alexis provides us “unpredictability”. He is our catalyst. I think we need to spend the money to replace him. At very minimum a Mahrez if we can revive his efforts (the raw ingredients are there and he is at 26yrs a good age) If not Greizzman will cost but Lacazette has soft power on him if the club should match this with a show of ambition (always questionable of course) Then there’s Draxler whom I think may be ideal considering Giroud isn’t going to be around for long. He is a player in the RVP mold who may be able… Read more »
Mahrez is just sizzling since his great lone season. Why would AG come here with AL already here? Or Draxler could just be a better version of OX. Always on the cusp of greatness but never putting it together. I do like Drax but please this guy hasn’t done anything but flash potential. PAstore? is this the same guy who keeps getting hurt? lol Are you secretly a PSG fan? No I’m sorry AR playing the 10 role would be disastrous. AM role is ideal but he is selfish or tries to be too cute. He would be frustrating to… Read more »
Theo looks like he’s just been dropped off by his mum so he can sit his History GCSE exam
Well they both gave us their prime years. The club clearly is showing no sign of ambition. We as fans will have 30 to 50 years more of supporting this club but those players dont have much career time left in their hands , they would want to make it meaningful of whats left of it. The CEO handing out examples of how leicester won the league shows what vision the board has.
My dream scenario at the end of the season. We win the ueropa and either or both the domestic cups. (No league title because lets be honest here even in dreams that seem far fetched).. ozil and sanchez leaves.. for clubs ABROAD. Laca works his magic on his best mate griezmann to snub united and that cunt mourinho and sign for us haha I know.. wilshere somehow becomes the injury free no 10 that we need replacing ozil and add that draxler guy weve been interested in for so long.
Draxler won’t come if Mesut leaves, they’re good mates, why would he join the club that his friend has just left because it showed no ambition?
Did Theo put his school uniform on by accident?
…no matter how hard he tries, grow a beard, put on some tatts, pump iron…
Would be very upset if Ozil went to Man Utd. Really you have to respect him and Sanchez for staying and giving the club their all. Ozil too. But going to rivals is still disrespectful to an extent. But I don’t think there is a club who would pay what Ozil is demanding other than United maybe. Anyway, both are replaceable so it’s all good.
Agreed. Regardless of their sentiments, they have stayed with the club and are giving it their best this season so we should reap the benefits whilst they are still around, not get too dramatic about it or sentimental either. Eventually they are replaceable. Lets hope the club sells offshore but the trouble is the agent and player has plenty of say in the matter and the domestic competitors have a lot of weight money-wise. From Arsenal’s perspective, it won’t be about ROI anymore considering they are in final season. So the motivating factor should be to avoid strengthening immediate league… Read more »
Everyone is replaceable. What is this notion that a player is not “replaceable”? Players come and go. Get over it. That doesn’t mean Ozil is “replaceable” or Sanchez. This is why they are both WC. Onlything we can do is buy a player that has potential and cross our fingers. There is the sexy high end potential like Lemar or no name potential of whomever lol To get a WC seems to be out of Arsenals budget. AL ins’t WC btw. He is definitely a different version of OG. Just another good striker but has some glaring faults up to… Read more »
If they want to go they can go, the squad looked better balanced without them in the team. I know as fans we tend to navel gaze but this is world football now when a player moves from Barcelona to PSG or wants to move from Chelsea to China you know there’s something wrong. We really do need to sort our youth system out because situations like this are only going to get worse. Having said that I would be pissed if they went to another English team.
Considering his style of play, Ozil may suit Italy. Some of the ex-pedigree teams there have just got recent injection of money from China and are looking to reconstruct. There will also be slightly less pressure than going to another PL team and straight back into spot light/comparison here. Its a new league and environment and one trying to rediscover itself so slightly less expectations IMO. I think we have been waiting to see who else comes into the market off shore. If the Italian sides can line their ducks up in January, I don’t doubt we are looking to… Read more »
Forget them two. I love the fact mustafi looks pumped to be there
Could care less about Alexis leaving but would hate to see Ozil go, especially to ManU & Mourinho. Still pissed ManU got Lukaku, wish we would have tried to get him. Don’t want to see Ozil feeding Lukaku.
the fact that we’ve been winning without ozil in the lineup doesn’t help his case much.
Yeah, very impressive wins against those footballing behemoths Koln, WBA, Bate, and Brighton.
if they dont want to be here then no one will miss them.
not good for team cohesion and discipline though. and reflects poorly for a club like ours that certain players can get away with such behaviour.
I would be very happy if they showed up in actual matches.
From the club’s side, we can’t say we won’t sell them to a PL club because it will affect negotiations with any offshore interest to their benefit but clearly we will be looking to offload anywhere other then PL rival if preferable.
Considering it isn’t much about money or ROI anymore given short duration to end of contract, football competitiveness will be the factor you would think.
I think writing has been on the wall for sometime. They are ultimately replaceable IF the club should make the right steps in bringing in the quality we need. The issue will be to avoid selling on a PL rival. Sell offshore. BUT that also means clubs on the continent will know this and use it as leverage. OTOH considering contract run down, it doesn’t look like making ROI is a priority anymore anyway. For Ozil, we should be looking at someone like Pastore maybe, similar age and experience, a bit of skill on the ball, someone who may be… Read more »
I will always love this club, but it has been more than a few years now that I have lost some of that special magic that was always there, also when we didn’t win things. The current regime is a s ultra productive as a business as it is down right depressing from a sporting point of view. How can I ever blame Sanchez for not wanting to extend his contract with a club with our recent history footprint? Despiyr all the talk about “our values” AWs true legacy is a brilliant business formula for continuous profit making as a… Read more »
But to his defense, you have to make profit. We are self generating in income and that is a positive. Considering prices last summer, if we weren’t minting money and keeping some in reserve, we may be priced out next summer and we know we have to fill in at least 4 positions down the line. Because the prices are so unpredictable (hyper inflated), you can understand the careful management of the spending. Whether we could afford to have had at least one more quality reinforcement last summer of course is more the question but the criticism about the club… Read more »
Sell them both in January. Sanchez in particular could still generate a bidding war.
If they are doing the business for us, selling them both will be extremely disruptive.
One maybe feasible.
What’s with Chambers and Debuchy? Considering we have limited resource beyond Bellerin and Kolasinac in fullback (beyond young Nelson and Monreal who currently now has been re-roled to Cback), you’d think they have a role to play. Chambers started his career as a very accomplished and promising fullback at Soton until Wenger decided to embark on a project to convert him to Cback. BUT we now have Holding so we should revert Chambers to his original intended role. And what of Debuchy? easily one of Wenger’s less fortunate buys. Understandably plenty of it is injury induced but you reckon he… Read more »
Dude for 1000x that you’ve asked about Chambers over the past week. He is hurt. You know injured. Not able to play. Physically unable to get on the pitch at this point. there is no conspiracy at the current moment for Chambers.
What’s all this hullabaloo? Arsenal is bigger than sanchez or ozil. Let them go. They can’t and shoudnt hold the club at ransom. They have done their part, thank you. Goodbye. Arsenal will still be there and hopefully their negative presence go with them. Giroud whom I really rate highly will be our saviour. Mark my words
Well, that is not the point if you ask me, the point is what the club is all about these days, Sanchez and özil situation are not bigger than the club, but they are symptomps of miss management. I’d prefer both to have been sold this summer, I don’t agree with Wenger in stating running down contracts to be “business as usual” , it is a very poor and damaging excuse, what signals does it send to our players?
u know like a soap story that just goes on to long, and think come on it needs to end now,, this is the Sanchez and ozil soap and g want it to end,, if they REALLY wanted to stay there’d be no delay in signing the contracts,, and to be honest its clear Sanchez is going, and I’m not bothered if ozil goes either, sell them both in January use the money and start again
I said before the end of the transfer window that I’d prefer if they were shipped out, bring in players who want to play for the club, team, fans and manager. Wilshere is looking like he is getting close to his best form again, for me he can fill the gap left by the inevitable departure of Ozil. We need to go heavily after Draxler or Lemar in January or the summer to augment the likely departure of Sanchez. I’d actually like to see us try a system with both Giroud and Lacazette starting. I feel they could be quite… Read more »
Replacements? You mean getting another 2 players fill in the roster? Who are you going to get in Jan to replace the talents they bring?
I DON’T WANT ÖZIL TO SIGN. It’s mismanagement from Wenger and the club’s side not to have sold him in the Summer and replaced him. I’m ok with the Alexis situation even if it is obvious he won’t side because he can still help the team, even if at 80%. Wenger’s been beyond naïve, trusting these 2 players would “give their all”. Not ruthless enough – again. It’s going to be an extremely difficult Summer in 2018 and with Wenger’s and the club’s track record, it could be disastrous. Ospina, Mertesacker, RB, Mustafi, Özil, Sanchez. Koscielny being on his last… Read more »
I like them both but like Fabregas and Van Persie before them they have not exactly taken us to that next level have they despite both being here for 4 seasons now. Also the team has becomes far too dependent on them, if they leave others will have to take more responsibility. We all thought it was over when Henry left but the team actually improved. Not because the players were better but more of them had to produce. Would like them to stay but i don’t see the world ending if they left especially if they left to play… Read more »
This story is about players being unhappy that Ozil and Sanchez did not show up at a sponsors event. Why exactly were they unhappy and not the club? What is the business of players if someone doesnt show up to honour the club’s commercial commitments. Or they missed them? Some story here.
I’m miffed that so many of our players don’t know how to do their top button up on their shirts – or perhaps they were missing too! What’s the point of a nice new suit if you spoil it by not doing your tie up properly?
I think this aspect of coaching is severely lacking at our club now and shows Bould just isn’t up to the job. Would Mourinho or Guardiola allow this to spoil the formation on the day?
They have no reason to stay. This club has been a sleeping giant for over a decade now. I’d boo them if they went to City and United because football. However, deep down I would always know I’d do the same, more money, far better chance at trophies, no inherent ties to Arsenal, easy decision.
They both need to be phased out to get the team used to life without them. I wouldn’t want either to stay in England so would accept decent offers in January. I know not everyone would. If PSG are really interested in Alexis then a swap deal wouldn’t be a bad idea for one of their very good forwards. I have a feeling PSG will win the Champions League with or without him. Their forward line is scary. As for Ozil selling him to Inter would be fine by me to stop Mourinho getting his grubby mits on him. I… Read more »