This morning it was confirmed that Arsenal had left both Sokratis and Mesut Ozil out of our squad for the group stages of the Europa League.
Following the closure of the international transfer window, the Gunners were required to submit A and B lists to Uefa but could only include 17 non-homegrown players. With 19 on the books that meant leaving out a couple of high-profile stars.
Obviously, it’s an awkward situation for Mikel Arteta who had hoped more senior stars, including Sokratis, would leave in the transfer window so that such a decision wouldn’t have to be made.
Technical Director Edu explains that they’ve faced the situation head on by being honest with those who’ve been left out.
In an interview with Arsenal.com, he said: “When we signed players here we have to manage that because we only allowed just 17 [foreign] players in our list.
“I talked to Mikel about the players who are probably going to be out of the list and how we can treat that challenging situation well.
“The way we did it is to sit with the players, be open with the players, I spoke to the agents, was open with the agents as well. The only way we can do that is be open, clear and face-to-face and to explain why Mikel has made that decision.”
Similar restrictions will be imposed by the Premier League in a couple of weeks time when they ask for players to be registered for domestic competitions.
Given Ozil and Sokratis are both out of contract at the end of the season, there’s a chance we may have seen the last of them in an Arsenal chance.
The big question is whether they are willing to sit tight for 12 months or whether they’d be open to an agreement with the club that sees them leave earlier.
__
As part of the same interview, Edu also touched on why he’s pleased with Arsenal’s transfer business during a difficult window. See here.
How Edu actually broke the news to them: You are the weakest link, astalavista
Ozil and Sokratis got EDUcated.
Thats disrespectful considering the fact that the ‘them’ contains Papa Sokratis too.
Exactly, when Sokratis came, he projected the image of an industrious no-BS defender.
so projecting an image is good- whilst being shit
however actually being world class(ask the german coach and wenger) but portraying a not so good image is not ok
load of bollocks
I can’t see how Ozil warrants so much discussion (even though I am now contributing to it!). Offering him a contract years ago was an expensive fuck up but it’s long done now and you could see the logic at the time. He won’t play, he’ll be gone in a year and he’ll leave a forgotten man. He could have left before, he chose not to knowing full well he wouldn’t be picked to play and here we are, regardless of the reasons behind it. He’s not the player we need and he’s a shadow of what he was. I… Read more »
When your team becomes classless.. you domt really care anymore.. we ditched santi ramsey now ozil when we all cried for them before to sign and commit.. ozil is on of the best ever.. he will go down as a legend a footballimg legend for what hes done.. we just loss class.. ps we threw wenger under a bus too
Well I beg to differ but it was time for Wenger to leave now let me tell you I am a long time supporter 52 years and will forever be a Wenger supporter and he is as great a coach manager and person as fergerson will ever be he change the sport of football single handedly in. The hardest league in the world but alas all era come to an end and it was time
Dude! We extended Santi‘s contract WHILE he was long-term injured and clear he wouldn‘t be back on the pitch for at least a year.
We offered a new contract to Ramsey which he turned down because he wanted to play abroad.
What‘s absolutely classless is a sentence like „were an embarresment.. puttinf diwn the knee every game for one black man dead and we csnt treat our own player with resprct because he said somethin about concentration camps“.
How can you even compare deathly racism and a player not being picked? What‘s wrong with you???
I don’t think Santi and Ramsey got ditched…
Özil will never in a million years go down as an Arsenal legend, or any other kind of legend really. He’s one of the best ever, and he showed his brilliance more often than not until he was about 28…then he just threw in the towel, and overnight was a shadow of himself. He’s much closer to Arsenal shame than Arsenal legend. And he will not be a player we remember for his skills and quality. If we remember him, it will be for the last 2 years when he has been mostly useless and riding his wages till the… Read more »
“All those who think they should be in the Europa League squad, please take a step forward.
Not so fast, Mesut…..”.
??? LMAO
Ozil should have been told before this window that whilst the club would, of course, pay his wages for the duration of his contract but he will not play again for the club. Everyone would then know exactly the situation. It now looks bad all round
How do you know he wasn’t told?
I think from the outside it looks like Ozil put his foot down. Turned down a loan to PSG (champions league and more silverware) and middle East (money) to stay in London ( no football)
Good player and I will forever fondly remember his impact alongside Alexis (If only Arsene hadn’t wasted them with Perez and welbeck) but right now you can’t help but say he laid his bed and he has to sleep in it.
At least he can afford a nice bed though…
Ozil did worse in the last 3 years with Auba and Laca…so not sure what are you getting at…As the club marquee player and highest paid, he is supposed to elevate other players and the team…not the other way around.
Shaun, you’re boring.
There is a good chance, this season maybe a truncated one, given the pandemic is far from over!
At this point, I am wondering why Mesut would put up with this. He has the contract, it’s his right to stay. But why would you want to be treated like this? He’s wasting his last years of playing football because of a grudge.
True. I‘m curious to find out if he‘ll change his stance when he just won‘t be able to play for Arsenal anymore.
I can think of 350,000 reasons.
He’s a top quality player despite what’s happening now. He’ll be at another club playing well and making top money.This is an Arsenal thing, not an Ozil thing.
I’m not sure why you’re being downvoted. I’m sure every single one of you here would let me fart in your face at my convenience for 18 mln a year.
I think a lot of people disagree with the comment that he’s still a top quality player as there hasn’t been much on the pitch to suggest that’s still true the past several years.
Man Utd in January, Liverpool this time last year, there was a masterful performance against Bournemouth not too long ago. Have been lucky enough to watch in person? I think you miss more of his game on tv than most players
The quality of his game has deteriorated pretty markedly. Stillman ran an analysis of his stats last year- the expected assists had just collapsed. You can argue part of that was him coming back for the ball more but at the same time it’s undeniable that the chances he’s creating are pretty low quality these days. Add in that he can’t/won’t effectively press or can’t play in a midfield two. The game largely has passed Ozil by and he’s been unable/unwilling to modify his game to fit.
Quality of ozil deteriorate because of awful team we had,but if he get chance right with this team his creativity can be seen,,.
Look at the quality of the team and you still Auba performing.
You still find
Did you watch any of those games I mentioned? They weren’t the only good ones. Sorry I don’t have any stats and didn’t read that article, just going on what I saw. Maybe I’m too old for this forum
Too naive for this forum perhaps…to be conned by a few good performance…if you follow him enough you would see that his stats has been progressively declining…his last good season in terms of stats and in terms of what he is supposed to be good at was perhaps in 2015 – 2016….
For example ignorance like this is rampant.
He was excellent in 16/17 and 17/18 before everything he needed to suit his game was taken out of the team when Emery arrived.
Still dominates the creative stats in his infrequent minutes.
2nd best G?A p90 for any Arsenal non striker btw and was far ahead of Cesc when Wenger left
This forum is an anti Ozil bubble.
Out in the real world he’s still massively appreciated and respected. Arsenal are absolutely shooting themselves in the foot here.
Can’t be surprised if his grudge also affects his performances on the field. Ozil can do better than what we are seeing, he just doesn’t want to. He’s this kind of player that wants to be pampered in order to get the best from him. He needs to be properly managed, I know he’s being paid to do his job.
“Properly managed” to what end!? So he can waltz around the pitch, not pressing from the front, not showing any urgency out of position to ensure his team mates aren’t under more pressure than they need to be and therefore have to cover more space than the tactics warrant?! Has anyone ever witnessed Ozil put in a tackle….? . We defend as a team now, and that’s something he has never signed up to. I have ZERO idea why there is so much confusion around the fact he doesn’t play. Its GLARINGLY obvious. Personally, I believe its absolutely right to… Read more »
except his pressing and running stats were great under Arteta…
Oh fair enough. As you were then.
We haven’t covered ourselves in glory have we?
I would happily let you shit in my mouth
Have some decency man, flatulence only!
Yuck!
Depends on what you’ve eaten
I have a steady diet of KFC and taco bell and I like to brush my teeth with balsamic vinegar, I floss with red chili’s and I gargle with garlic flavoured tonic water.
I’m available
Unfortunately my funds are tied up in another gas for cash scheme but I’ll let you know if that other guy drops out.
Alexis was gettjng paid around 600k a week at Man Utd. He still decided to take a pay cut and permanently move to Inter. Even Mikhytaryan cancelled his contract and moved to Roma in search of regular football. So if you have a desire to play, money will not be the only factor. Seems like he does not have the motivation or hunger anymore, which is a pity. I dont blame him because it’s his choice. But dont think it’s only an Arsenal thing.
Facts! Cos if he still cared about his career, he Would be long gone by now….. it’s a pity, cos I didn’t think It was all about the money for him, I was wrong.
It’s a money thing.
Alexis was gettjng paid around 600k a week at Man U He still decided to take a pay cut and permanently move to Inter. Even Mikhytaryan cancelled his contract and moved to Rome in search of regular football. So if you have a desire to play, money will not be the only factor. Seems like he does not have the motivation or hunger anymore, which is a pity. I dont blame him because it’s his choice. But dont think it’s only an Arsenal thing.
Fairly certain he will play for his best nan’s team, Istanbul Basaksehir next year. Wish all parties could come to an arrangement to speed it up and be done with the drama
It’s important to remember that this isn’t something that is just happening to Ozil as if Arteta decided to pick on him. Arteta gave everyone a clean slate but was really clear that if you didn’t follow his non-negotiables you wouldn’t have a place at the club. Ozil & Gendouzi both clearly fell foul of that and I would add both have a history of issues. Emergy benched Ozil, Freddie chose not to play him and now he’s fallen out with Arteta. I’m sure it was made clear to Ozil what the situation for this year would be but he… Read more »
Everything you’ve said atom is clearly true. I can’t wait for him to be out of my club so we never have to talk about him again. Wouldn’t surprise me to see him do a Gallas and go to Spurs on a free just to try get one over on us.
I’d be glad to see them paying his wages instead of our club.
Every time he’s been written off before he’s come back and given us reminders of the quality we have on our books – the unique talent in world football that Joachim Lowe, Ronaldo, Mourinho (he knows a bit about football despite all else) used to gush over. He’s still got plenty of talent and he’s loyal to us. Don’t care so much about the internet chit chat care about the football
But he was playing every game pre project restart wasn’t he? So did he start well and then give up on the non negotiables?
This echoes my own thinking. Very strange that this only started to sour during/after lock down.
He probably didn’t follow instructions during lockdown to remain fit. We’ve heard he doesn’t really like training in the past. As we all know he was getting enough game time before lockdown.
Perhaps this is true, perhaps not…but will we ever really know? My read was that Arse have been trying to force Ozil out to get rid of his salary — we don’t know if he was ever really given the chance to start with a “clean slate.”
So we’re trying to force a player out because we can’t afford his salary….. only to sign Auba to a larger contract & Partey / Willian to massive contracts as well. We would be more than happy to pay Ozil if he were performing/ behaving.
Bs… How can you play every game before the enforced lockdown break to no playing time at all.. Something deeper going on
Wenger couldn’t rely on him either. He was only ever “Arsene Wenger’s man” in optimum circumstances. By every account if Wenger wasn’t on his way out at the time he would not have sanctioned the size of contact given
And thats before you even get to issues at Madrid and with the German national team.
This clearly shows how Ozil has no footballing ambitions and does not want to lose out on his £350,000 a week. I understand he has a “contract”. We all have NO DOUBT of his talent and abilities but should we be doubting his motives to play football? Doesn’t he want to end his career on a high? He’s ruining his own “legacy” at Arsenal by sticking around at a club who’ve made it CLEAR and OBVIOUS to him they do not want him at the club. This has be known and well documented for more than a season now. Surely,… Read more »
what’s the grudge?
Headline “How Edu broke the news”
Photo: “laughing in their faces”
Did he have the same hearty grin when he told them that he has in the banner photo?
Such a pity that Ozil situation has come to this. Not quite sure what is happening behind the scene but its getting quite embarrassing for both club and the highest paid player in the club. Hope to see ozil playing 1 last time at Emirates b4 he leaves us.
I think he should walk while his stock is still high. He might be too poor a football player to even be signed for free by a Championship side.
Bit late for that
To me it doesn’t matter how bad a player is, the way I’ve come to know Arsenal is not exactly like what I’ve been reading in recent times. Handling relationships has become a little awkward.
Interesting thing is, he played all games under Arteta before COVID break. If he did some really big fuck up, it is justifiable. But the thing is, nobody knows the truth and the club will never tell you the truth. So far the only person who has talked about this is Ozil. And according to him, he is targetted for reasons which is beyond football. If that is the case, it’s very wrong from the club. Them won’t telling the full story and we not knowing the full story doesn’t make them the good guys. Unless and until they come… Read more »
Some balance!! Thumbs up for the last sane person on the Internet. We don’t know…… That is the correct conclusion to draw from all of this. Yes the Ozil PR machine has been in full swing….. But so has the club’s. How come he was the only name to be leaked of the players that refused the paycut etc? The best outcome of this situation now is that the club buy him out of his contract because the whole situation is so rotten that its stinking out the place. I’m not willing to blame either party as I just don’t… Read more »
Agreed something weird is happening at the club.
He even admitted himself in an interview that he wasn’t committed after the birth of his child.
Actually he said he didn’t sleep well. Ignore me. I misremembered.
I think German FA and Chaina is in this saga, remember Arsenal board distanced them selves from Ozil’s comment on China about their treatment of Moslems there.
Hes been vocal about Germany so i wonder why he hasn’t said anything about the Arsenal way of things? contractual obligation?
Becoz there is nothing wrong with the Arsenal way of things, he was offered that contract with hope of a resale value n view, what a lesson for all Arsenal fans n football world at large when agreeing business…….
Talking badly about Arsenal will earn him a fine.
German FA couldn’t have fined him, as he retired from playing for them. But as long as he wants to be paid in full by Arsenal, he better keeps his mouth shut.
Classless club weve become.. all this crap is because of China 100 percent.. too damn weak to standup to these sick *****
Er, no!!!
Did you have your tinfoil hat on when you typed this? It seems like there’s some sort of anti-Chinese conspiracy theory wrapped up in your comment, but the whole thing doesn’t really make much sense.
I think the suspicion–don’t need a conspiracy theory–is that Ozil’s condemnation of China’s treatment the Uyghurs so angered China that commercial relations were jeopardized. For example, it is a fact–incredible as it may seem–that when Arsenal matches including Ozil were shown in China, his name was not mentioned, even when he had the ball. If I had to guess–and it is only a guess–it is something like this: Arsenal (or the Premier League) have asked Ozil to “clarify” or modify his comments about China, perhaps even in some fairly diplomatic, innocuous way, and he has refused. He is very rich… Read more »
A different George with a different view.That would make sense. These days it’s costly for one to have their own views.Im sure it’s not easy for a player to refuse to take a knee, even if it’s against your conscience.
Against your conscience to take a knee? How can it be against any decent human being‘s conscience to condemn racism and the cold-blooded, sadistic murder of a black man and black people in general?
It has always been costly to have your own views – if your own views make it evident that you are morally degenerated.
@DiffGeorge – I am broadly in agreement with you. I think it’s likely something changed with him since the World Cup, when he was scapegoated horrifically for Germany’s failures. Perhaps the knife attack incident plays some part. Regardless, that’s speculation. What I’m struggling to track with is the pre-COVID playing time and fair bits of success turning to total freeze-out. It’s also possible that the time off afforded Arteta more time to assess the broader project and it was decided that Özil wasn’t part of the next great Arsenal team, so best to begin the revamp in earnest. Or, perhaps… Read more »
I agree with you. I almost used the word “tragic” myself to describe what has happened. Like you, I can’t really understand the change in Arteta’s actions pre-lockdown and post. It’s clear the story is almost over and that at this point there is no possibility of any other outcome than Ozil leaves the club, soon or in the summer, having already played his last match for Arsenal.
im sorry but they really are some principles… He calls out China but his best man is the autocrat leader of Turkey likewise culpable of ethnic cleansing.
I am not defending Ozil’s views or the inconsistencies you (or I) may see. I am saying (speculating, really) that they have become supremely important to him.
You obviously don’t have a pair of ‘they live’ specs
Well it aint for any footballing reasons dont even play the non negotiables card.. ivs seen ozil backtrack more than others still in this team. And tinfoil or not politics exist if you dont knoe how it works its your bad.. ozil is a gent, as were many true gunners se had who we tbrew out like garbage.. China threw their toys outof the pram when ozil condemned to thepoint they removed him from.vide games and social platforms.. you think out classless board would bare a threat from.them to lose money? Give me a break and pass the tinfoil hat
Definitely China that’s why he hasn’t played a single game since that happened. Oh wait.. actually he said that before Arteta even became the manager. Dang, how do we make this conspiracy story work?!?
Yeah and the owner is from a country where even the President wouldn’t dare say anything bad about China.
Hang on…. that’s not right either.
exactly
First off by not replyimg to dimwits like ylu who think theyre funny instead of havin a civil conversation.. Dang
excellent counter – way to address the saliant point TheLimpBar, and indeed Onenil, made
Arsenal is a football club, not a nuclear power. Grow up.
Yeah well humans work at these nuclear powers
?
Curious thing when a club that offered a contract to a player now reproachs him to have accepted it.
Don’t think the club have reproached any players for their contracts have they? Or are you referring to supporters
Except that no one at the club is reproaching Ozil for taking the contract. Given how much we’re paying Willian/Partey/Auba it’s pretty clear the issue about Ozil’s production & behavior, not the money.
Seriously, as if he forced them to offer him a contract.
I think all anyone at the club wanted was 100% commitment from Ozil. It’s as simple as that. If he spent the last two years buckling down, working his best and performing properly he would be undroppable. Buck stops with Ozil, clear as that in my view.
God it’s so boring having the same conversation month after month, year after year.. shame how it turned out but I can’t wait until he’s gone then this ridiculous and divisive issue can finally be put in the past!
Pre-Emery Ozil covered more distance per game than just about every other player in our squad. Then they tried freezing him out. In his brief return to the team pre-covid he did the same covering a game high 11.5km against Man U. He also created more chances than any other player in our squad last season from memory despite missing a lot of games. Distance covered isn’t everything but it’s a good indicator of effort all the same. All this goes against the popular narrative of course
Not reproaching him for accepting it at all. The quid pro quo for a contract is to perform, or at least try your best. It’s hard to make a case that the player has done this, from looking at the level of his performances.
And ozil wins 100 percent becahde he stood uo for his people.. were an embarresment.. puttinf diwn the knee every game for one black man dead and we csnt treat our own player with resprct because he said somethin about concentration camps.. u think its about Artets non negotiables.. that words starting to make me cringe.. wake the hell up
Nearly had a stroke reading that.
Stop brining politics into football, these two do not go together. Club clearly mentioned they’re not getting involved with any of that stuff Ozil had to say.
Fckn hell this whole Ozil saga is exhausting & toxic, the sooner this is over the better. For everyone involved.
You don’t what politics in sport yet you are okay with players supporting “black lives matter”?a Marxist group
Spouting off again making out you know all the facts, how about you calm down and give the Ozil bum kissing a rest?
Go home, you‘re trump, I mean, drunk
‘there’s a chance we may have seen the last of them in an Arsenal chance.’
You’ve given them two chances there.
And still there is no chance…
Arsenal may have to take legal advice – if they haven’t already done so – over whether they can omit Ozil & Sokratis from some or all of their domestic competitions too.
Not registering this pair so that they couldn’t play any professional football at all may leave them vulnerable to potential action for breach of contract, restraint of trade, or on other grounds.
That would be really messy if things went down that route, so lets’ hope that can be avoided.
They can play U23’s, no?
as in being 2 of the 3 over-age players
They will get paid so there is no breach of contract.
No contract will ever state that a player has to be played in a certain number of games for anything other than bonus purposes. As long as we allow him to train – it could even be with the U11 girls & pay him, there is no breach of contract.
He would fit with the girls team well I think.
I think in that case, it may be construed to be constructive dismissal
They’re not being dismissed. They have fixed term contracts which will not be renewed. Meantime, they are being paid in full.
In my country there has been a case where players who were ordered to train with the amateur team of their club due to disruptive behaviour have sucessfully forced their club via court to be included in the professional squad’s training again, as – according to the court – their contract guarantees them “professional level training” in order to hone their skils in their professional trade.
If the same applies to England, the girls U11 comment might not apply. I have, however, never heard that players were able to sue their way into a starting 11 or match squad..
They’re still being paid full whack. Their contracts have less than a year to run. I doubt very much there is a legal case there.
I suspect waiting up until the PL deadline to see if any one picks up an injury. If they do not then would imagine Sokratis at least will have his contract cancelled allowing him to find another club
Please Ozil, do the decent thing and leave before your contract expires!!!
Nothing decent about walking away from monies owed as per player/club contract. It was would be stupid unless the club bought out the contract. Oh btw – I would guess a buyout of Ozil’s contract would be appreciably more than his salary. Surely there are ‘add-ons’ that would require additional dollars to be paid?
Aside: For some reason I am thinking the vast majority ‘ripping’ Ozil would not walk away from those millions. I damn well know I would not.
“Please Ozil……please…!”
???????????
Does anyone know for sure why Ozil is blacklisted ?
Genuine question, I don’t care if he doesn’t play but paying someone mucho bucks to stay on the bench seems quite serious.
No.
And it‘s highly probable no one ever will as I‘m sure both parties will have differing stories / sides of the coin when this is over.
All you can do is to look at the course of events leading up to this situation as well as the people involved and deduct for yourself what could have been the most likely reasons.
Edu probably told “By the power vested on me, I grant you the title – he who must not be named”
….named in the squad u mean?
Sokratis definitely does look like a deatheater
One or two long-term injuries during this international break and one or both could be in the Premier League list.
Just think that in 8 months time, the contracts will be finished for Ozil, Sokratis, Mustafi, and Luiz. That’s gotta be close to a million a week off the books.
So even without any signings in 8 months we have Holding, Chambers and Saliba for the right and Mari and Gabriel for the left of a 4 man defence. That’s solid. Real solid.
Surely now the club and players need to sit down and discuss a mutual settlement of their contracts? Ozil is set to be paid £13.5m until his contract ends but by the end of it won’t have played a competitive match in 16 months. Surely accepting a pay-off of £7-9m and moving as a free agent with chunky signing on fee / salary and actually having the chance to play matches would be uppermost in his thoughts?
He’d not accept that. He refused to accept the pay cut, only one in the squad, as per reports. You can be in either camp, but this is not a team approach IMO. If I’m in a company and everyone is accepting the pay cut you go with it, that’s my two cents. Especially if you won’t be hungry, far from it and tbh haven’t really produced on the pitch when played.
No I don’t mean a pay cut – I mean we pay him that much to cancel his contract. He get a big proportion of his wages for this season up front from us, we save a little bit of cash and put a stop to all the Ozil talk, he becomes a free agent and gets to join whoever he wants with a big signing on fee and tidy salary for 2 or 3 years. If he stays until the end of his contract he won’t have played a match in 16 months which surely he’d want to avoid?
I understood you the first time, and still think he wouldn’t accept that.
According to Ozil he wasn’t the only one. This pretence about effort needs to end. Get pragmatic and bring him in to the fold or pay him out in full.
On point! …plus no contingencies such as: a) Cannot join an EPL competitor or b) Not joining another club immediately. An attempt to prevent him making additional income during the rest of this season that Arsenal has already paid for in a buyout. c) Restrictions on engaging in competing commercial ventures…
Blogs makes it clear that he *knows* there were two others, but can’t name them. I’m not sure that makes any difference, except that the leaking of Ozil’s name by the club, and not that of the others, was a pretty nasty thing to do.
Well said.
The club has made itself a laughing stock in the way it has handled this situation. You either play the lad or you settle up, pay him off and move on.
This ridiculous stance by Arteta and Edu could well come back to bite them both, especially if we don’t make top four in May.
Wenger has already tried to offer Arteta good advice this week regarding Ozil. It remains to be seen whether that good advice is heeded. More fool Arteta if he doesn’t.
Paycut for what? to sack staff? to go ahead with wearing masks as substitutes even though they are all tested as negative for propaganda? lol what next? sacking the mascot?
Ozil is in his early 30s. If you were in Ozil’s shoes with 40+ years ahead of you, what reason would you give yourself for stepping away from 10s of millions (= salary + add-ons)? …reason that makes sense?
A bit sad, particularly for Sokratis, who always gave a whole-hearted performance. I guess it is hard to find a transfer on the same wages when leaving the EPL.
Ozil is mentally fragile, thin-skinned individual. The lack of mental strength is what has done him in.
Those are the operative words. Now it no longer matters whether Mikel Arteta is a patsy for the higher-ups and whether or not dropping Özil is his decision.
With great power comes great responsibility. Head Coach -> Manager, now everything to do with the team reflects on him.
Özil’s brought this on himself. The game has moved on and every attacking outfield player is expected to be effective in defence and support in addition to their attacking duties. Watching him stroll round the Emirates like he smoked sixty a day whenever an attack broke down and we lost possession was an insult. The predictable absences for “unfashionable” away fixtures rubbed salt in the wound. Illnesses apparently. Pundits regularly referred to him as a luxury player of late. Well we can’t afford luxuries in the squad when we’re fighting for every result. Arteta expects every employee at Arsenal to… Read more »
His ‘strolling’ results in him covering more distance a game than most in our squad.
Ive seen those stats but his sprints per game etc and defensive aggressive running were really low if i remember correctly.
In other words, you’re twisting the facts to suit your own agenda.
The trouble is skill counts, too.
It took us a mere half an hour to get in a single shot – on target or otherwise – at home to Sheffield Utd last Saturday.
We can’t afford luxuries, but it appears we can afford to waste 350k a week whilst our midfield plays the ball backwards and sideways in a never ending horse shoe.
I can’t help wondering if there’s something we’re not being told about Ozil. Could the attempted robbery have affected him mentally?
Possibly. Sanchez was too far away to lend his dogs to help.
Clearly you’ve never been threatened at knife point or received death threats.
Neither have I, but then neither am I making a joke about it. You are.
Mesut was okay before lockdown not sure why you wouldn’t just use the resources available. Would love to know what is really going on.
Only thing that changed before and post lockdown was him talking up about how they wanted to use the money they will save from the paycuts, so…
I think it played a part but to think was the only reason can’t say for sure. Maybe he isn’t training hard enough, maybe they think we don’t the bit of creativity he brings. Is such a mistery now
Put it this way. Not 1 but THREE managers, including 2 that I feel fans are more fond of than ozil,found him to have a problem and talked about attitude. In today’s game we cant afford to carry a lazy AM when even the striker is closing down furiously. Ozil retured the moment he signed 350k. Zero motivation. Sokratis on the other hand is a curious case. He defends with passion though not too good in playing out of defence. Sad. I like him. I’d have kept him and left kolasinac out instead (and play gab or AMN on the… Read more »
Sokratis wants to leave so likely will seek market in January. Mustafi and Chambers still on the mend so again prob useful to have and then take stock in January if they can be moved. Kolasinac also a reasonable asset if kept particularly now considering Tierney testing positive and AMN for me jury still out not that much better albeit he has youth on his side and therefore potential. BUT if we are looking for effecxt now, Kolasinac as a fullback/wingback would certainly be more comfortable than Left of Cback (Some players can thrive in that role others just can’t… Read more »
For everyone involved would be best to see them agree to separation terms. As a professional I would hate to go another year knowing I wouldn’t play at all especially with so few years left.
If I were Ozil, I’d be doing exactly the same as he is. Training with a smile on my face, having a laugh with the lads and making it clear to the world that I was ready and willing to play.
It’s the club who are mugging themselves off here and making us the laughing stock of football, not Ozil.
The big question is why they are willing to stay at a club who has told them to move on. I don’t buy the argument it’s because of the handome sallary some are paid. What kind of of an ahole would I be if just stayed at my Company becuause they had to pay me. The normal reaction for a decent and competent human being is to find a new job. Unless of course you are completely useless and can’t find another job and has to exploit your employer because you have the right to do it.
Ozil has understood that whatever he does, his legacy at Arsenal is wrecked. And its not like he is looking for much legacy, as he knows he will be remembered for being a World Champion. So why make difficult choices when he can collect a cool 350k sitting at home?
You think you’re speaking for all Arsenal fans? You’re not.
I shall remember Mesut Ozil for exactly what he was – a key member of a team that finally got this club back amongst the trophies – 3 FA Cups in 4 seasons.
You think what you want, pal. You don’t speak for us all.
One thing I dont understand is – why didnt we cancel Papa’s contract. Would have saved us the salary he is on. Even though its not much compared to Ozill, its still 5 mil saved.
Because the club had already cancelled Mhkitaryan’s contract for Roma and Napoli wanted Arsenal to do the same for them.
I think it’s a dangerous precedent to established and it’s good that the club finally put said no. If Napoli really want him, January is not far away.
The thing with being a football fan is that, we all somehow have this feeling we can or could handle situations better than those who are actually paid to do a job by the club we love and support. Listen guys I trust Mikel 100% same goes for Edu. They know much more than I can imagine and I think we should all just get off their backs and let them drive our team forward. A couple of years ago, a certain Pep sanctioned the sale of some players he didn’t want in his Barcelona team, look how that turned… Read more »
Get off his back?
He’s making his bed – and now he’s got to lie in it.
If we don’t get top four – minus Ozil – I’m gonna want answers to some very big questions. Such as why the fuck should I renew my thirty five year old season ticket, that is currently costing me three grand.
You shouldn’t, cause Özil won’t be there anymore.
The time for smirking, Edu my old son, is when this club has made the top four and got back in to the ECL.
At the moment, you’re wasting the talents of our (still) best creative midfielder and, as far as benefiting Arsenal Football Club is concerned, effectively pouring 350k a week down the drain.
Not much to be smirking about.
Arsene Wenger believes we could still use Ozil; you clearly don’t.
I know who’s judgement I’d trust.