Mesut Ozil has struggled to adapt to life under Unai Emery but his long-term future is at Arsenal and his detractors shouldn’t write him off, that’s according to the German’s agent.
Dr. Erkut Sogut, who helped negotiate the German’s huge pay rise in January and has often acted as the player’s mouthpiece when critics round on him, also maintains that his client is 100 per cent committed to the club and perfectly aware of the its expectations having been on the books at the Emirates for over five years.
Rumours that Arsenal are open to selling or loaning Ozil have circulated in the last few weeks as a reaction to his regular absence from Unai Emery’s starting lineups.
In an interview with Goal.com, Sogut stated: “I would prefer not to speak publicly about Mesut’s situation, but given the recent speculation linking him with a move away from Arsenal, I do feel it is important to provide some clarity so we can end this and focus on football.
“Mesut signed a new contract last January because he saw his future at Arsenal and nothing has changed in his mind. He wants to stay for the duration of that contract and maybe even longer.
“Mesut is 100 per cent committed to Arsenal Football Club. He loves the club, shares its values and does not want to be anywhere else.
He added: “He is proud to wear the shirt and honoured to represent Arsenal on and off the pitch. He takes his responsibilities – including being selected as one of the captains this season – very seriously and has a great relationship with his team-mates, the staff and fans.
“In the last year, there has been enormous upheaval for everybody at the club and the first half of this season has not been perfect for Mesut.
“He has suffered from injuries and illness, and is working hard to adapt to the different system employed by head coach Unai Emery. This may take time, but Mesut will give everything he has to help make it work and bring success to Arsenal.”
Ozil has four goals and two assists in 16 appearances this season, taking his tally in total at Arsenal to 41 goals and 73 assists in 212 appearances since signing from Real Madrid for £42.5 million in 2013.
Sogut maintains that he’s determined to prove his doubters wrong once he’s overcome his latest injury problem.
“Mesut has faced criticism and obstacles throughout his career, but he has always responded and behaved in a positive and dignified manner,” he said.
“He does not feel the need to speak personally because he is focusing all of his efforts on getting fully fit, improving his form and consistency, and letting his football do the talking.
“Mesut joined Arsenal in 2013 and has therefore been a part of the club for longer than most of the current playing squad and even many members of staff. Over those five-and-a-half years, he has shown total commitment and professionalism.
“He has not spent long periods injured and maintained a high level of performance, as the statistics show. Despite what some may say, he understands the fabric and expectations of the club better than most.
“Unless you are on the inside and privy to what happens on a daily basis, it is best not to speculate. In every journey there are highs and lows, but it is important to consider the bigger picture rather than simply making knee-jerk judgements without proper context.
“The speculation around Mesut’s future has not come from him or us and is unfortunate because the situation is clear: his future is with Arsenal, end of story.”
That’s quite an emphatic statement of intent (on his behalf). There’s no doubt that a fired up, fit and in-form Ozil is what all Arsenal supporters are after.
Here’s hoping he can put a forgettable 2018 behind him and Unai Emery can get him going again for us very soon.
Man, Ozil has some of the best PR and Media handlers in the business. The verbal statement has been submitted, now let’s see if the football statement will follow.
But really, there isnt one single thing in what his agent say that is wrong.. Not even the biggest haters of Mesuts footballing performances can disagree with what his agent is saying here..
Yep. His agent is very good at framing current events against historical precedent and routine, cyclical events. It removes the emotion and compounding effects of 24/7 sporting news coverage…
£350,000 a week will get you at least great PR if not playing time
Obviously..
Nico, his agents been with him since he was a kid… When he was earning deutsch Mark.
Nope, in the early stages of his career his father was his agent.
We need to stop obsessing over the Money, yes his agent pulled a blinder with the deal but I don’t believe he used a loaded gun.
It is what happens when you allow contracts to run down so much you only have to look at the blinding contract Alexis is now on to realise that. When Rambo signs up for whoever it may be because there will be no transfer fee he will get a great personal deal.
Hopefully we will have learned from the last few years of idiocy regarding contracts and it won’t happen again.
What’s with the one year extensions manure uses? Seems an interesting approach to end of contracts
I can just imagine the eloquence of Ozils agent and Glazidis charming each other to full extent, with full eye contact haha.
Ozil footballing statement hasn’t come for months, mostly because Emery doesn’t seem to give him game time. But to have game time and footballing statement, Ozil have to obey Emery first, and convince him that he can adapt to what Emery wants. Come on Ozil….prove us that you are a 350k/week star! Ya ozil ya…
There ya go…clear as mud.
Wow, what a lot of words
One word three letters.
Let me translate “ My client likes living in London, he doesn’t want to leave London, he also likes his giant pay packet, and doesn’t want to take a pay cut, so he’s going to pretend to be injured for the next 30 months whilst collecting £42,000,000 in wages, and unless you want to buy him out of his contract? Then you’re stuck with him, hahahahaha unlucky haha”
I couldn’t agree more with you.
Good translation, and fairly on point too, but his well oiled PR machine will hastily vote you down for stating the obvious. It doesn’t matter anyways, because some of us can actually read in between the lines. But I give him great credit for gathering one of the best PR group of any modern player. Kudos for that, but we need you to do your magic and increase your work rate on a constant basis and all these PR rhetorics won’t be necessary anymore. If he really love this club as he claims to through his agent, then he should… Read more »
I new you would write a review Rich, when I saw the headline. Deep down you are Ozil’s biggest fan. Please do not deny it…. ?
I’m calling it now, Ozil will look to stay until at least this time next year, collecting his wages, then he’ll go to Miami to play for Beckham’s franchise. Ozil’s agent is saying the right things, but you’ve either got hunger, drive and determination, or you haven’t.. And Ozil hasn’t, If you look up the definition of “just crusing” you’ll see a picture of Mesut Ozil, he’s a complete waste of money, and FairPlay to him, £350,000 p/w to do fu*k all, other than to check up on the people you pay to update your social media, in between playing… Read more »
That’s a shame!!
That’s great for all involved. A fully fit and focused Ozil is unplayable on his day. Time to shut up the haters again by your performances. Really hope there isn’t an ego issue with Emery. Because this needs to work out in the best interest of The Arsenal.
So he’s leaving, then…
Reading between the lines. Turkey presumably.
JM’s
I’ve supported Arsenal whoever is in the team. But the great players have been important to that loving. George Eastham, Charlie George, Liam Brady, the great Denis, Viera, Pires, Henry, Fabregas and Ozil. We need these great players to make it proper Arsenal.
lol. are u seriously putting Ozil among Theee Arsenal greats ?!
As the most creative player in the Premier Leaguein the first 5 years he was here and helped us win 3 FA Cups also a World Cup winner, I certainly believe he can be compared to all the other Arsenal greats.
I don’t. Can’t think of a single game on the way to the 3 cups in which he was really instrumental. Other than Ramsey btw who has done nothing and can piss off according to a lot of our supporters.
Also can’t think of a big european game for us in which he was the stand out player. You guys are crazy if you’re comparing him to the likes of Bergkamp, Henry, Pires or Vieira who have made the difference in so many big games and have been so instrumental to the most successful period of this clubs history.
So how was it that he had more assists and chances created than any othe Premier player. You have a short or biased memory and can only think of his present inconsistency. You can’t blame Ozil alone for the comparatively lack of success when we had the other greats.
I’m a fan of Mesut’s game, but his Arsenal status can’t be compared to players like Bergkamp, Wright, Henry, Vieira, Pires, Ljungberg or even Cesc, Parlour or Petit. Those players performed consistently, week in week out, Mesut’s consistency has been poor. Quality wise, he’s comparable, but that’s it.
Those Arsenal greats had other greats around them, Mesut hasn’t. If he was part of a team with players like that we’d be smashing everyone, it’s not fair to make comparisons like that.
He would not have got into the invincibles team.
I used to use that excuse too, it doesn’t fly anymore. We’ve got Lacazette and Aubameyang and still no Mesut Ozil showing up in his best form, doing what he used to be the best at. He’s lost all his passion for football and would rather play video games.
The fact that he has the most assists over the last 5 years has probably something to do with the fact that he has been the only player playing constantly in the number 10 position with no defensive duties at all in that time. His only job is to create. No other player in the world has that luxury.
Just checked it, Özil had the most assists in a PL season once with 19, his best season. Once he was in 5th place and the other 3 seasons he wasn’t even in the top 10 in terms of assists.
Stats are always showing what you want to show with them. Nobody doubts his abilities. But he’s just not delivering on them regularly.
The irony being he now more than at any other point at Arsenal, has the quality players up front to convert his many wonderful scoring opportunities but is not even making the most of it. It’s a strange state of affairs.
Do you think he does enough?
Yeah, one great season makes him a legend.
berlingoon interesting you mention Ramsey and how a lot of supporters on here wish he would piss off. That would make sense if people backtracked on this blog over the last five years or more probably the only player disliked more than Mesut, but strangely there seems to be a huge new found love for him.
Just an observation, don’t mind me.
I don’t know about others but I always was a big fan of Rambo and have made that public here several times. He loves the club and gives 100% in every single game, something you unfortunately can’t say about our highest earner.
JM’s agent spoke highly of his position at United and three weeks later he was sacked! Let us hope this is the case with Ozil!!
His agent must support him at any cost because he is a beneficiary of the huge deal he signed last January. As long as he doesn’t produce on the field get rid,Emery!!! George Graham,(for a few of you who can remember),got rid of Charlie Nicholas when he took over because because he did not fit in with his plans. Ozil doesn’t fit Emery tactics.
JM? Hahahaha bloody Moroniho. Quick comparison apart from one being a manager (poor man manager) one has gone and now everyone is jerking off about this new incredible team under a former player dug out from the mighty FC Molde.
Mesut not playing since being tactically taken off at have time at Brighton for not controlling the possession well enough. Second half disaster as rest of team can’t control ball at all and we hang on for a point. Since not played.
Ah problem solved sack Emery and grab big Sol from Macclesfield be no stopping us then………
Watch Ozil take the mighty Blackpool down!
Watch the mighty Blackpool kick him, then another 2 months injured. Well mentally scarred maybe.
Hopefully this statement will bring all the speculative claptrap from the media – and media hypnotized fans – to an end. Onwards and upwards with Ozil and Emery.
Totally unrelated but I’ve heard that Diego Godin is out of contract in the summer. We can offer him a pre-contract deal since we are a foreign team. Let’s give him wages that match Ozil! Surely we can convince him to come here then surely! What an absolute rock he would be alongside Sokratis or Holding!
Godin is Athletico through and through. He’s going nowhere. Not the guy to follow the cash.
If Ozil really loves our club I’m sure there’s a bit more he could be doing to show it at the moment.
Someone as talented as him, really?
Of course he doesn’t want to leave, what other club would be stupid enough to pay his obscene wages. We need players that want to fight for the shirt not p****s like Ozil that disappear when we need them or pretend they’re injured. The sooner Ozil is shipped out to some Chinese club, the better for all parties!
Quite the volley. Glad I’m not Emery heading into the next press conference. The rabid vermin will be insufferable.
If this is the true position of Ozil, it’s on him to adapt where he can, but also on Emery to fully utilize the talent at his disposal.
I’d like to think the question of how to maximize Ozil was a prominent part of the managerial search. He was pretty much the only constant on this team (plus arguably Auba and Laca) given his fresh (unmoveable) deal, the uncertainty re Ramsey, and the replacability of most of the rest of the squad. Setting aside specific subpar performances (which, cmon, all of the top players have) he is an asset and highly regarded for what he does do as a traditional #10. His shortcomings are known but are not an issue in the right setup with the right players… Read more »
You seem to be one of his highly paid and classical PR group?
Ozil is SHIT. Ozil is the greatest player EVER!
Anyone who thinks anything at all in the middle can fuck right off.
Who wouldn’t stay for 42 million
I like Ozil but this really is a case of his pay packet/style of play meaning there is no natural suitor for him. He wouldn’t fit in at any of the tier 1 clubs as they don’t play a true #10/ already have one – Juventus, Bayern, Madrid, Barcelona, PSG. The 2nd tier – Dortmund, Altetico etc. don’t need him/ wouldn’t pay his wages either. He wouldn’t fit in at the other top PL clubs as he doesn’t fit their style of play. We massively overpaid him to avoid the PR hit of losing both he and Sanchez in the… Read more »
For a player that has a doctor as his agent, he gets injured more often than Diaby
Everyone wants to read between the lines – find hidden menanings – assume this and that and it´s all bollocks. That´s a long statement – from someone who´s trying to cover it all.
IMHO the increased training tempo has hit him hard and adapting to new tactics (quite a lot of them) – he´s 30 right – and he´s struggling with minor injuries. I believe that 2019 will be a good year for Özil – in the Arsenal shirt. Give him a couple of games and he will bring us some magic.
Fingers crossed..!
Mesut Ozil haters… this was for you guys…
Now you could ALL f… Off !!!
It is well documented agents spill the the truth and don’t have any agenda. Just imagining Ozil trying to win a header or not being dispossessed in a dangerous area is what you get from an overhyped player. I wish him well in China
Why not..? With this hefty sum as wage package and a talented assemblage of PR machine for defence (which he unfortunately lacks on field), who wouldn’t afford to..? Crazy rhetorics.
I enjoy watching Ozil float around the pitch. I really love watching Ozil when he plays at his best.
I hope he stays and continues to give us some really amazing performances.
Ozil is german. Emery is Spanish.
Ozil is a World Cup winner and played in the Final!! Emery is NOT!
Jealousy, hatred even? You go figure!!
What crap!
it seems very much Ozil vs Emry and I see fan base divided. But no one is immortal.
For me it’s very clear, we are 5th in the table with ManU closing in on us fast.
We can’t afford to loose out on CL another year – not for the money but because of the associated danger of becoming the new Spuds – a mid-table club pretenders.
Of course it is.
Where else can you get paid £300000 a week for doing practically nothing.
Nobody wants to do anything at Arsenal except get paid huge sums of money for nothing.
A shambles of a club owned by a parasite and managed by a buffoon.
Hell will freeze over before Arsenal ever finish in the top four again.
Bunch of useless….
It is so sad to see so much hate towards Ozil from fans, some of which were shouting “sign da thing!”.
We just want to see him give his all and play up to his ability. He hasn’t done that consistently for the past two and a half years. He took the money, now he needs to earn that money on the pitch. We didn’t sign him so he could play Fortnight in his basement at 2:00am in the morning.
Good, I’m very pleased about this. Now let’s all support him and get his confidence back. Yay Mesut Yay!
I cannot obviously speak for most Arsenal fans but the vibe one gets from blogs and general media write ins depicts fans that are generally fatalistic and woe is us mentality. I am South African Arsenal since the EPL started so I do not have the benefit of being a local based supporter of the team. That said the constant whingeing and whining of some of the supporters/fans is numbing. I enjoy loving Arsenal for what the Club stands for in the midst of Petro dollars fuelled and manufactured competition but I think as fans of The Arsenal we lack… Read more »
Aren’t you doing exactly what you hate?
Whining about the whingers?
By the way, Ozil is the most overrated player since Andrei “I had one good game” Arshavin
#EmeryOut simples
http://arsenalist.com/f/2018-19/goaaal-pierre-emerick-aubameyang-1-0-2018-12-16.html