Yesterday, Washington Post journalist Steven Goff reported that representatives of Mesut Ozil will travel to meet officials of D.C United regarding a potential move to America.
They’re are losing superstar Wayne Rooney in January, with the former Manchester United man heading for a player/coach role with Championship side Derby County. Having signed a three year deal, the Englishman is leaving after just one season.
Sources have told Arseblog News that the MLS side are serious about their attempts to sign the German, with Rooney’s departure having come at a particularly sensitive time for the club commercially.
Currently in negotiations with a number of new shirt sponsors, there’s a need to add a big signing to the roster to replace Rooney, and Ozil has been earmarked as a potential candidate. The club want a ‘Premier League star’, and the 30 year old comes with a huge reputation and a massive social media following which sponsors would certainly find attractive.
Whether it’s an appealing move for the German remains to be seen, but it’s understood that Ozil’s representatives are travelling to listen to the proposal – with D.C’s idea being that the player move in time to start the new MLS season in the early part of 2020. That would mean finding an agreement in the near future.
It would prove a financially challenging transfer for the American side, needing to match Ozil’s £350,000 a week deal at Arsenal, plus whatever transfer fee we might require, but given the club’s reported willingness to let him go at times last season that might make negotiations less complicated.
It feels like a long shot, but with a meeting scheduled between Ozil’s camp and D.C United’s people, it is being taken seriously enough at this point, so let’s see what comes of it.
I thought what a load of bollocks when I read the papers headlines in Sky Sports news this morning… Possibly not.
Maybe a good thing, I suppose?
Can be good for Ozil actually. Henry had very good five years in MLS. Ibrahimovich said he is the Ferrari among FIAT over there. Former Arsenal Carlos Cela is making havoc there.
To be fair, Vela tore it up in Spain as well. He was too young and it was too big a step up for him when he came to Arsenal.
Might explain why Rapids just got 200,000 in allocation money to give up first spot in the allocation draft. So someone coming from outside the MLS DC United would have first right of refusal
Not to burst any bubbles, but is this not a classic example of “tapping up”?
Not if the team had been informed and gave permission.
Does he need a lift?
I think Ozil is most productive when playing with a goal scoring winger. Ronaldo and Sanchez got the best out of him. With Pepe in team now I hope he flourishes again and then we can we sell him to DC United at the right price
Please, let this happen. PLEASE! Would be the best deal of the summer. Even if we manage to sell Mustafi, too.
We can send them mustafi. Also german. They wouldnt know the difference
Yeah, let it happen
If Everton come back with £35m for Iwobi THAT would be the deal of the summer. I like him and like having academy products in the team, but really do think he’s hit his ceiling. With that we could go all out for a ‘proper’ centre back and maybe even sneak Tierney too. Absolute no brainer for me.
we can Mustafi for them too
Loves himself a capital-based club, does Mesut. I call Beijing FC in 2021 followed by a quiet retirement with Bayern.
Should earn him enough to buy FK Istanbul.
Think you’ll find the capital of Germany is actually Berlin mate. (smug snotty nosed voice)
Istanbul not the Turkish capital either ?
hahahahahahaha
And the capital of Turkey is Ankara – so presumably he’d be more interested in buying… (looks up which football teams are actually based in Ankara) Osmanlispor?
Not sure Ozil is a big Ataturk fan, mind
Further to that, Ankara is the capital of Turkey.
Ahem Hertha Berlin
Not former GDR champs Dynamo Berlin then?
Ahem, Union Berlin
Arno Steffenhagen and one of his team mates from Hertha Berlin came to play in South Africa after being banned for match fixing in the early seventies.
I just want to acknowledge how miserably wrong I was. This has been a learning experience.
For some Reason, I don’t want this to happen but if it means getting good money and freeing up cash from the wage bill, I am all for it.
I want to see him playing with our new front line. Has looked promising in preseason.
Personally I wanna see us move to a 4-3-3 as we finally have the players to do it (almost all top teams use a 4-3-3). Sadly, Ozil doesn’t fit into that system.
But he always does in preseason.
The main thing is the wage bill and the potential impact on discussing wages with other players. However, strangely I hope we would be playing a 4231 this season predominantly, with hopefully a good CB signed in this window (dreams?), which means we might yet see Ozil play a important role. With the attacking 3 of Auba, Laca and Pepe, who better than Ozil to supply. I’ve hoped Ozil would move on till we signed Pepe and Ceballos. With potentially Ceballos and Torreira as the double pivot, it could allow for Ozil do the thing that he is world class… Read more »
I don’t think Ceballos was necessarily brought in to play the double pivot but rather to replace / provide competition for Ozil. Our pivot is likely some combo of Wilcox, Gendouzi, Torreira & Xhaka.
Ceballos pretty clearly plays the Ramsey role. What do they call that again? Oh, midfielder.
Ceballos is fully capable of playing as a creator & unlike Ozil would allow us to play the pressing style most modern top managers now play. Klopp said something to the effect of he doesn’t play a true number 10 as he loses more by not being able to play a press than he gains by having a creator. Ozil simply doesn’t produce enough end product to justify having him operate with effectively no real defensive responsibilities.
This is key, but Cellabos also gives us more options because he’s much more versatile than Ozil, being able to play in a double pivot, a midfield 3 or at 10. Ozil’s lack of defensive ability and versatility may have been forgivable if he was a regular goal scorer but he fails there as well. Ultimately he doesn’t have enough strings in his bow, and especially not on those wages.
This isn’t saying much considering Ramsey could play as a 10, in a double pivot or, as is likely in Juve, a box to box 8 in a midfield 3.
Agree – Ozil / Mik likely are squad players this year as Ceballos/ Pepe will allow us to play a much more modern pressing style. If Ozil plays out of his mind to start the year then he’ll play, but otherwise think Ceballos largely means the end of Ozil.
But he plays them all the same, so-
Could be a worthwhile deal, gives us six months to keep working on the youngsters, gives us time to find a replacement if necessary and of course clears the wages off the bill
I called this weeks ago, don’t be surprised if Inter Miami CF get involved. I don’t see wages being a problem, they’ll get around it with image rights, shirt sales, sponsorships and bonuses, just like they did with Beckham, Rooney, Henry, Keane ect I doubt we’d even ask for a fee at this point, and fully expect Ozil to be reduced to a bit part player, once Ceballos gets up to speed, with Ozil leaving in the January window. A Different George, remember calling me a fantasist? Ozil is finished as a player, and with the signing of Ceballos, and… Read more »
No, I don’t remember that, but I will say it now: you have no idea what you are talking about. This is just as likely as the Coutinho story we heard yesterday.
“Ozil is finished as a player” except in the eyes of people like his teammates (note what Pepe said on signing) and Zidane (note what he said about Ozil, as well as Willock). By the way, remember Ceballos (who is there to replace Ramsey, not Ozil) is a loan, with no option to buy.
Must be old age…. you probably can’t remember what you had for lunch yesterday….
No one doubts Ozil’s ability, but he’s been on the slide for a very long time, just like your memory ?
I don’t know if there’s any truth to the Coutinho rumour? But he’d be the signing of the summer if we pulled it off.
I don’t know Pepe, but most seemed to believe he was out of our reach, and we still got him, maybe we can pull another rabbit out of the hat with Coutinho before 16.00 tomorrow?
If Zidane likes Ozil so much, we should do business!
No, I don’t remember, but I am happy to say now that you don’t know what you are talking about. This is just like yesterday’s Coutinho story.
Ozil finished? Give them him for free? Christ, I’m glad you aren’t running the club and are just an uninformed voice on the internet!
i honestly thought he’d have gone to Turkey this summer. Loves it there, recently married a turk, among all the other links to people there. Sure he would take a pay cut. Biggest thing for us is the fee, 30 year old world Cup winner with (when he wants it) has bags of talent, on todays market. If Zaha is worth 80, he’s at least 120 surely. 25 I guess to take him of the wage bill I expect though.
He’s had one good game in the last season and a half. On what planet is he worth 120 million?
I guess the same planet as Paul Pogba who is appatently valued at £160m ???
That’s exactly my point. On paper Ozil is worth more than Zaha, and Pogba. Slab head went for 80. His commercial worth to a new club would be a fair whack. I’m not saying he is worth 120m!
In this window, prices are all over the place. My point was in comparison to other prices being touted/paid. Would anyone pay that, of course not.
He’s 120 million when he can be arsed. About three games a season. The rest of the time in the last two or three years he’s been abject.
Whilst I would like to see him turn things around and show his talent every week I think it’s time to accept he won’t and allow him to move for whatever we can get. His wages could pay three very decent players.
I’d much rather they took mhki off our hands, I think ozil could be good this season with them 3 beasts ahead of him. If he plays most games I can see him breaking assist record.
Wishful thinking,
People have prayed for that in last two seasons
Do they have Batman playing for them?
well if they’re after a Joker, we have one in Mustafi they can have
Shame we recently sold Laurent Two face Koscielny.
No, but they have Homelander.
Seems a decent guy.
This would be fantastic if it happened. Ozil has been a disgrace for the last two years, frequenting crying off away games, making minimal effort on the pitch and holding the club to ransom on a new deal.
If they match his wages and there is sunshine in DC where he can improve his ‘brand’ he’ll be off.
Good riddance as well.
Gets hopes up. One less crumbler. To steal a phrase.
It would help the Wage bill if we were to sell him on. We must be near the limit of wage increases allowed by FFP rules? Especially with Pepe added, mind you Kos has gone now so that might balance things a bit.
Could this add a little more weight to this ‘Arsenal Are/Aren’t about to loan Courtinho form Barca’ story that’s doing the rounds? But it seems like it’ll happen in the winter transfer, if Bloggs is correct.
I just want to see a proper Arsenal defense again! I hope we announce a few defenders soon!
*Seems like Ozil will happen
Pretty sure we’ve reduced our wage bill this summer regardless of signings given we’ve lost Rambo, Welbeck, Kos, Jenks, Lichtsteiner, Cech and Ospina to name but a few – gotta be 500k+ there
Blimey, I’d forgotten about some of those! I’ve been so focussed on waiting for defenders to be signed I’d put some of those players out of my mind completely. Cheers Db412!
The site was slow to respond. I was hoping it was a news about a bid for a CB! There is time to do some of the out goings a bit later, now it’s time to get that CB in.
Everton are bidding for Iwobi, let’s just offer them Iwobi plus £20 M for Keane and see what happens.
Oh Happy days!
Sorry I meant: Ö Happy Days!
Not to be a stickler, but Rooney has spent 2 seasons in the MLS…not 1.
They meant 1 year into his new deal
Would love to see Ozil go, and Coutinho in.
Oh, yes, a guy whose club bought 145 M to get rid of him the season after. Surely a great deal for us. We seem to like trash from Spanish big clubs.
Hope you remember we got Ozil from Real
Buying Countinho was pointless for Barca. They have Messi in that position, which is why it didn’t work out. It was a typical Barca buy, it that they did it simply because they could.
Coutinho is younger than Ozil, has a better work rate, and the intangible that Ozil lacks at times. Desire.
And hey, if you can’t get Ozil, there’s still Mikhi. He’s a PL star. No? How about Mustafi? He’s certainly infamous.
“Currently in negotiations with a number of new shirt sponsors, there’s a need to add a big signing to the roster to replace Rooney, and Ozil has been earmarked as a potential candidate. The club want a ‘Premier League star’, and the 30 year old comes with a huge reputation and a massive social media following which sponsors would certainly find attractive.”
Modern football is mad
The market economy is mad.
Everyone is extrapolating from the Beckham experience in MLS, and using that as a measuring rod for Ozil. But that was unique; it changed the credibility of the whole league, not a single club. It came at a crucial moment, in a crucial city, Los Angeles. He was, by a very long way, the most famous football player to Americans, and most casual fans, or non-fans, believed he was acknowledged as the best player in the world. They named a movie after the way he took free kicks. His wife was a Spice Girl. Nothing similar was true for players… Read more »
You just don’t get what an international star Mesut is. John Cross said it was like the Beatles era, fans were so keen to get a glimpse of him. If saddens me how some people can only see the negatives all the time.
Where?
The pre season tour.
I’m a fan, for sure, and I agree he’s a star. But, it wasn’t like Beatles-mania at that match in D.C. Which is where he’s supposedly headed. Ozil is nothing like Beckham here. I expect he’d be closer to Henry’s or Villa’s Q-rating.
No, I am a big fan of Ozil. But no one in the United States who does not follow European football has ever heard of Ozil. Beckham was completely different, a name that became known by everyone, even people who don’t care about any sports–like Usian Bolt or even Muhammad Ali. The correct comparison (in terms of American reputation, not ability) is not Ozil but Pele.
How?
Mesut is on over 18mio€ a year. Zlatan is MLS top earner with 7. Even if Mesut takes a 50% wage cut( why tf would he do that) it would make him top earner by far. Guess the transfer fee won’t be an issue.
Exactly. DC United just don’t have the money to make this happen. And why would Mesut take a giant pay cut?
I am liking the intention, there really seems to be a new impetus from the club hierarchy to fix things. Onwards and upwards!
His agent said in January that he wants to stay for his last 2 years, at least. Özil posts and talks again and again about his excitement for the upcoming season. But you believe journalists eager to make people speak of themselves?
I love Arseblog but “Sources have told Arseblog..” reads a bit like the some clickbaity shit-paper/website..
No offense.
Well, I can’t make public the name of the person who I spoke to, so I don’t know how else I’m expected to convey the information I was given.
Yeah, that’s kind of how journalism operates.
Unfortunately, some of these sites that Timsh has mentioned have no care for the truth and/or feel free to make up stories as long as it gets them views… but that’s not real journalism.
I’d hope we all know well enough by now that Arseblog isn’t one of those sites.
To be fair, OP didn’t ask for a name. Was it one source or more? What is the nature of your source?
To be fair there’s no need to be fair to OP. Other than to give the benefit of the doubt that Timsch only meant the wording is in a way Timsch is not partial to.
Blogs has earned the benefit of he doubt because he’s never made up shit (aside from the actual fiction pieces, of course) and whenever something is a secondhand or dubious rumor is sure to be clear about it.
its like reading a fairy tale once upon a time and they lived happily ever after is it too late for it to become or too late for it to really happen and sign a replacement
Mesut, Mustaffi and Mohamed, three who I’ll be glad to see the back of.
Seems highly unlikely at the amount of dollars that would be involved, but I guess one never knows. Be interesting to see what happens.
I’m confused, is this not the very definition of tapping up? Or am I missing something?
I’m not really sure MLS has ever been accused of “tapping up” Premier League players, esp someone of Mesut’s caliber
Im sure Arsenal have given him permission to speak with any potential buyers.
No, this is tapping down. They’re a shit club so it doesn’t count 🙂
Someone has pressed the ‘craze’ button in this club and I like it, although given that Mustafi is shipped off.
Are we going to use him this season? If not then let’s move him on if we can. I say this as a fan of Ozil. I have loved having him here but nothing lasts forever and if it’s to be a repeat of last season then the time has come for him to go elsewhere.
???
Auf Wiedersehen….. and no, this isn’t a young German defender who will help us stop shipping goals
Coutinho in and Ozil out anybody?
Nah. CB in, Ozil out
The only way this will get off the ground is a loan deal with us paying a significant portion of his wages.
No, just no!
probably a fair reflection of how much his stock has dipped that he’s linked to an MLS side…
Mmm, i think MLS and Ozil are made for one another. Will be sad to see him go, but honestly we can get better value for our money. Also not buying this sudden good vibes between him and Emery — what possibly couldve been said in pre-season that wouldnt have been said last season already.
Does Ozil himself know about this?
I figure Arsenal’s just trying to convince other (more serious) teams that we have options where to sell him. He wouldn’t be cup tied for Champions League so it could still happen in January. More likely next summer though. By then we’ll know if we have any chance (or if we want) to hold to Ceballos. And we’ll have time to organize a replacement. Surely he’s got to be better than last year.
Who’d buy him though? No European club would be stupid enough to come anywhere near matching his wages – particularly given his performance level in many games – and why would he move for a pay cut anyway? Given his age, he’ll also have no sell-on value for any new club. We need to get his staggering (thanks to Wenger and co.) £350,000 a week off the wage bill asap as it’s skewed the whole wage structure at the club, and has caused a deal of resentment as well. Ceballos is a potential Catch 22 for us. If he’s poor… Read more »
Please go
This would be a very good deal for both clubs as long as we get 70 or 80 million for him and it’s done before the deadline and we DON’T overpay for a centre back.
Can we throw in Mustafi for free?
If only …
If he goes to MLS he is going to have to take a huge cut in pay and a huge drop in the level of competition (and teammates). Living near DC would love to see him here one day, but just don’t see DC United being willing to pay the salary he would command as well as the transfer fee Arsenal would command for someone with two years left on his deal (though I know Arsenal would like to get him off of their books and would accept a fee lower than he is valued, but even $10 million US… Read more »
Don’t want Arsenal’s most creative player gone. I sincerely believe he has a lot to offer to the club. It’s unfair to write him off owing to a turbulent season(reasons for which could be personal too). Let’s give the legend another year and then put forth a verdict
I agree he’s a “legend” – but for the wrong reasons! If he’s got a lot to offer the club as you say, why haven’t we seen it on anywhere near a consistent basis since he joined in 2013? I know that’s only around six years – doesn’t time fly -but should we still be waiting to see the “real” Ozil? No, I think we’ve been exceptionally patient – and staggeringly, almost unbelievably, generous – waiting for so long and all to no great effect. The only good news is that Emery clearly wanted him out almost from Day 1… Read more »
Wow, got a new cleaner at the Arsenal. All the garbage is getting taken out in one window?
Mhiki, might be time to call the movers.
Garbage, you’ll have nothing left.
Take out Mutafi bring in Luiz? No diff.
Take out Ozil and Mhki leave young Smith-Rowe and unproven Cebellos?
Hulk need to do thinking.
Why would he go before his contract is up?
The top earners over there like zlatan and Rooney make $7m. This isn’t the unique deal that Beckham got. That’s not going to happen for ozil. He doesn’t bring name recognition in the States. DC United isn’t a international club or good enough to even try. On top of DC area isn’t even a great place to live.
If he goes to the mls it won’t be until Jan ‘21 when he is in the last 6 months.
There is no way he would give up his wages at this point.
This is nonsense, I’m expecting to get two good seasons wear of my beautiful new Adidas Ozil number 10 shirt.
It depends on Ozil. He’s only 30yrs, maybe too soon to call time and go to pasture in the US. I would think although he may no longer feature for Germany that he may yet want 2 or 3 seasons at the top flight before stepping down. Certainly an interesting prospect but frankly we are probably better off at Arsenal WITH Ozil. Mhkitaryan is frankly not any better (albeit wages by half) if not a poor man’z Ozil who can’t seem to find goal. Smith-Rowe is up and coming but still young. Cebellos a good addition albeit temporarily and still… Read more »
Ah, it’s just a meeting over coffee per Maurer (https://theathletic.com/1123863/2019/08/07/piping-hot-details-emerge-of-mesut-ozils-interest-in-d-c-united-audi-field/)
There’s more to it than coffee
If Ozil leaves, i strongly believe that Coutinho will come for the replacement.
Please make it happen.