Mesut Ozil and Sokratis will not play for Arsenal in the Premier League before January, with real doubts if they’ll ever play another game for the club.
Having already faced the ignominy of being excluded from the squad registered with Uefa for the group stages of Europa League, Mikel Arteta made the decision to also cut the duo from his domestic competition roster.
Having failed to move players on during the transfer window, the Gunners had no choice but to cut two high-profile stars because they could only register 17 of their 19 non-homegrown players.
While Arsenal can revise their squad list in January, Ozil and Sokratis, who are both out of contract next summer, face big decisions about their future. Do they stick things out at Arsenal and risk no competitive football for the rest of the season? Or do they look to engineer a move in January and salvage half a year of their careers? Both can sign pre-contract agreements with foreign clubs from January if they choose the former route.
Ozil and his representatives have stated several times in the last year that the World Cup winner has no intention of leaving the club prematurely. It remains to be seen whether he maintains that stance given the midfielder, according to The Athletic (£), recently picked up an £8 million loyalty bonus for staying into the final year of the contract.
It’s unclear what Sokratis, who came close to leaving the club in the last transfer window, thinks about the circumstances he finds himself in. There were rumours that he was hoping the club might cancel his contract, thereby allowing him to leave outside the transfer window, but no such arrangement has yet been made.
Last week, Mikel Arteta admitted that he has a tough job on his hands motivating those players who know they won’t get game time in the Europa League. Presumably, he informed the players about their exclusion from the Premier League squad at the same time.
“It was a very difficult conversation,” he said. “The last thing you want is to be cut just because of a restriction in the roster [on numbers]. You want to give them the opportunity that if they do well to have the opportunity to play and help us on the pitch.
“This is the issue we have. We knew that before the transfer window, we tried to resolve that, we tried to get some players opportunities elsewhere. We weren’t able to do that and now it’s just to keep them motivated, to make them still feel part of what we do and give them support.
“When they know they are not playing and not going to be playing week in, week out, it’s a really tough thing.”
William Saliba, who was left out of our Europa League squad, is included for the Premier League as one of our very many U21 players, a group which also includes the likes of Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock.
You can see the full list of all Premier League squads here – including the rather bizarre inclusion of Petr Cech at Chelsea.
Well that, as they say, is that.
A very inglorious end to things.
Sad, but in the end it’s right.
Is this a haiku?
Wasn’t Haiku a Congolese teenager AW signed from the Belgium 2nd division?
Hahahaha
Papa and Ozil
Potential greatness squandered
A sad conclusion
Nah, freestyle.
The way saliba situation has being handled is beyond disgrace. After signing of partey, edu and co were able to dodge this questions, but we desperately need an huge upgrade on contracts and transfers management department.
This is true but the verdict is still out on the Saliba deal as we don’t know for sure what happened or what’s going on.
A wise man called Arsene Wenger was very clear on this issue. Imports need time to adapt. Robert Pires needed time, Thierry needed time. Even Mesut Ozil needed time. There are exceptions like Auba. But an under 21 player coming off an injury-hit season needs special care and attention. Vincent Kompany signed for City when he was 18 and had a season-long injury before he was 21 – he went on to suffer from injuries throughout his career and retired at 33. 19-yr old Kai Havertz had played 2 Prem games for Chelsea and said this about the Premier League:… Read more »
Well said
It is well said. I’ve been super critical of this situation and I still think we’ve handled things poorly (the loan, then not loan thing and leaving him off the Europa squad seem pretty poorly done). I’ve said all along I only had expectations for him to play in cups, but we’ll have to settle for less and fingers crossed that is the right thing. The main thing is that the club are doing the right thing by him behind the scenes – really that is the thing that matters most long term. He needs to be happy with what… Read more »
Kaius, how does that square with trying to loan him back to France?
For all we know, it may not have been a season-long loan, but a short-term (till the next window) thing to help him deal with his mum’s death at home. It might have come up simply as good man-management for the player earmarked for the future.
Keeping him fit enough playing first team football would be an added bonus. That it was short term could easily have been the deal-breaker, reports in the media aside. All speculation, but there we are.
doubt kompany joined city at age 18
He joined Hamburg at that age, which is where he suffered his injury, before moving to Man City at 22. But that doesn’t dilute his point, which is 100% valid.
Ah thanks. I thought City had loaned him to Hamburg.
Raul should answering some questions.
I love how people jump to ‘disgrace’ when they really have no clue what is going on.
I know man. Where’s Qwalitee for some reasoned and thought provoking counter arguments?
You should call out incompetence when you see one !!
28m on a defender, who has not played for a single minute for arsenal in 2 season, is playing under-23’s because of a failed loaned move. Reiss, Willock, emile all are in similar situation to saliba. Fact is we suck at transfers !
I see you read a reasoned argument as to the situation regarding Saliba in another post but still choose to ignore those details and stick with your own limited opinion on the matter. Im not saying you’re entirely wrong. Our record of transfers over the years does make anyone ask questions and reaching a “we suck” conclusion, although limited is not unfounded, however… Edu and Arteta just recently accepted their new roles at the club. In a time of financial uncertainty thanks to Covid. We may have sucked, but do we still suck? Will we continue to suck? Art n… Read more »
I guess Ozil is a goner
Ya Goner Ya ?
Oh yeah, yeah
Seems so. Time for me to change my nickname.
Please don’t change it to anything Auba has ever said or tweeted.
The bias in this blog stems from the top— definitely a case of if I don’t like a player I will slap him down and all points supportive of him—–
Calm yer tits, Beyonce. It was just a little joke.
We must overthrow the evil blogs. His legacy is built solely on the oppression of multimillionaires.
#DefundArseblog
I wonder if he’ll continue paying Gunnersaurus for the remainder of his contract
It’s really Ozil under that Gunnersaurus costume.
Hmm, this is serious.
It’s a real shame how it ends… well, c’est la vie
Im sorry to say but what Arsenal football club stands for is changing. Retrenching long serving staff and isolating players is not something the club I knew used to do. Winning ( which is not guaranteed) above everything is else is not a value I support. Perhaps times are changing and I am too old but some of the decisions the club have made have been poor. Time will tell how they turn out.
And we aren’t winning as much as these sacrifices are costing the club.
Somebody had to be left out, we have two too many players to register. If they were going to make a place for Ozil, that would mean some other player being “isolated.” Who would you have preferred they “isolate” instead of Ozil?
Chambers
comes under the homegrown category, would still have to leave out ozil and sok
My bad.Still cant fathom why we failed to sell Kolasinac and Sok.I dont see Chmabers cutting it at Arsenal.
Willian 💯%. I can’t see what he brings to the team
I would happily drop Mari or Cedric. Who have obviosuly been amazing since they joined.
So you’re happy to “isolate” players you don’t like, it’s just the ones you do like who you think “isolating” shows that the club is losing its way? Mari played well and then immediately got injured. You’re ok with kicking him to the curb by not registering a player we signed less than a year ago? That seems a lot less the Arsenal way than not registering someone who refused to leave after it being made clear by the club that they weren’t going to play him and that they would prefer if he moves on. If Ozil wants to… Read more »
It’s like Don Corleone is running the show now.
I would like to know how much Arteta was paid to freeze up these players like that.
It wasn’t Arteta
This might be the stupidest comment ever posted on here.
It should be the stupidest comment ever posted here but it’s not. Quite far from it unfortunately.
Jeez. I make one comment about playing Holding as a false 9….
I recon he could do it
He’d probably do a slightly better job than poor ol Willian managed
Yeah, everyone knows that’s Willian..
No wonder you got flak. Holding is obviously an out and out striker
Arteta doesn’t strike as me as a yes man or bad cop.
He was paid his salary to do the dirty job. With Wenger, it was different. You can’t ask him to do what he doesn’t want. He froze Poldi out by his own.
I’m going to level with you guys. When we signed Ozil, this was not how I expected it to end. He was actually my favourite Arsenal player hands down for about four seasons. I don’t know whether to be disappointed at him or the club or both, but we’ve made ourselves look like an amateur club from the minute we signed Micky and gave Ozil this deal. Somehow, in a way that only Arsenal could do, by owing two of the best players in the Prem, we’ve done catastrophic and long-lasting damage to ourselves. See if you can work that… Read more »
He was my favourite player for the first four years too but with the benefit of hindsight I’m ready to concede and say it reeked of desperation when we extended his contract like we did. With hindsight it would have been better to let him go.
We are where we are now. I’m glad for the great times with Özil but let’s hope the situation is resolved sooner rather than later.
I think now is as good as any, for Ozil’s situation at least. Previously, he’s always been able to stay relevant (which appears important for his strategy according to his agent) and publicly commit to wanting to play – it’s always been the coach on the defensive, responding to never ending questions. Now, instead of emotional responses (both good and bad), Ozil, at the age of 32, faces the prospect of trying to get a decent last contract having not played a game in a year, the ignomy of having been excluded from all senior games despite being the highest… Read more »
The real mistake was in not having a definitive plan when it came to squad building as it pertains to Sanchez & Ozil. We decided it was fine to let both players run their contracts down and leave for free. We then panicked and told City we would sell them Sanchez for 60m if we could sign Lemar for 90m – but waited until hours before the window closed to decided we wanted to sign Lemar. We then were part of one of the worst swap deals in history when shockingly to only us, Sanchez appeared to down tools over… Read more »
Crikey I’d forgotten all about Lemar. What another piece of absolutely horrible business that would have been… Seriously, is it any wonder we finish 8th in the league with this pathetic level of recruitment?
To be fair, it felt like a good conclusion instead of losing them both for free. But how much better would we be off now had we sold them both in the summer of 17? Think of all the money we could have wasted…
Yeah, Sanchez was brilliant for Arsenal. I followed him closely as chile’s brightest prospect ever as a youngster and was a huge fan. When we signed him I was ecstatic – maybe my favourite signing ever for Arsenal. Close to that was Ozil. I was a massive fan of his a Bremen – he was incredible. And I was stoked we signed him and then having them both together was amazing. A huge part of the problem was our style of play though. In his day Ozil was arguably the best counter attacking footballer in the world – showing it… Read more »
You as well
ooh friend!
Thank goodness we didnt sign Lemar
I think the Ozil subject was done and dusted the second the whistle blew at the FA Cup Final. At the post-break restart Arteta said “everyone is welcome on the boat” and talked about non-negotiables. He chose his core group (without Sokratis or Ozil), moulded a new team ethos, AND won a massive trophy at Wembley. During the summer the club was transparent with him about his chances of playing this year. He decided to stay knowing full well the club was planning for life without him. So he will be paid his contract in full because it’s the honourable… Read more »
Lol I wouldn’t be so sure he is getting paid in full. There are probably bonuses in his contract relating to appearances or attacking contributions that he certainly will not be getting.
Well it will be over next year. At this point all that annoys is the reporters who keep asking questions about Ozil that they already know the answer to, it’s so lazy.
The press are the real shambles.
Not sure if it’s true or not but there was a report about Ozil receiving an 8m “loyalty” bonus a couple weeks ago. Mad if true
Why is it mad? Players routinely agitate for transfers but won’t turn in a written transfer to request to make sure they receive their “loyalty” bonus payments. The craziest part of this situation is he would have been under no illusions what his status would be this year and still chose to stay. I’m sure we would have gladly taken some discount to get him off the books, which he could easily recoup by signing elsewhere.
You’re right, ironic would’ve been a better word to describe the loyalty bonus.
I can’t believe he stayed tbh. Man could be first-choice at a new club somewhere and chose this.
He actually chose this.
Yep. This will get a lot of downvotes from the Ozil fanboys – but his decision to stay tells you everything you need to know about how little motivation he has to play at this point. If the stats etc. didn’t tell you the story already, this decision in itself just confirms his career as a top tier player is over.
How many jackpot winners stay in employment after winning the lottery which Ozil certainly did when offered his new contract by Wenger.
Money talks. It’s a good pension for Ozil at Arsenal.
According to The Athletic he recently received an £8 million pound bonus. Even now Wenger still thinks the team should be changed to accommodate, as Ramsey said “teacher’s pet”. I have yet to hear one journalist ask Wenger to justify offering Özil his lottery winning new contract worth a minimum £55 million pounds to him.
Did you read my comment? Because I was referring to the fated summer of 2017 and the winter window after where Ozil and Mickey signed.
No idea what hyperbole you refer to. And no idea what the fa cup final or Arteta’s non negotiables have to do with anything.
Yes I read it twice. This hyperbole: “we’ve done catastrophic and long-term damage to ourselves”.
I disagree with that. We had the 3rd highest net transfer spend last summer when everyone and his dog said “Arsenal are broke”.
Then this summer we were an Aouar away from one of our best transfer windows.
The club’s new project has already won two trophies. Most clubs would love that kind of “catastrophic damage”.
So instead of taking £60m for Sanchez we swapped him with Mickey who we gave away for free this summer.
And Ozil will have cost us around £80m in wages by the time his contract is up.
If that’s not catastrophic, you must be working for the government.
Yes, those huge sums we missed out on hurt us a lot. But the decision not to sign anyone but Cech in 2015 was the bigger disaster for the club, because it showed we had no squad-building strategy. Arsenal’s problem over the last decade has been about more than money. Poch took the Sp*ds to a CL Final while spending 150m less than our wage bills. The summer of Cech cost us a title we deserved, cost Wenger a huge amount of credibility with the squad and fanbase, and the fall-out led to us making desperate moves for Xhaka and… Read more »
Yeah. I’m going to respectfully disagree that not signing anyone in 2015 (?!) was more destructive than flushing £140m down the Tottenham Stadium.
I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
No worries. I fully respect all the different takes on here.
Plus having to pay Ozil his new contract they then let Ramsey go for free. A double whammy
I’m not sure any of us were complaining when Ozil signed. How can you blame the club for not know he was going to put his flip flops on as soon as the deal was signed?
Club have kept their end of the contract, he’s still being paid. He’s not continued to perform to the level of a £300k per week player and there lies the problem. He’s robbing the club and indirectly the fans who are paying his wage to sit on his arse.
I, for one, was very happy we made the two deals in early 2018. But it was only because we got ourselves into a right old pickle the previous summer.
You don’t congratulate a dog for flicking soil over the shit he’s done in your garden.
If the dog that’s been crimping one off on my garden for the last few weeks flicked a bit of soil on it, I’d take him out for a cream tea.
As the club highest paid player since 2017, Ozil simply hasn’t delivered even close to expectations not only this year n last year, …but ever since he managed to CON the club to give him the 350m/week contract. This is despite having super quick Auba and Laca instead of super slow Giroud in front of him. Now that it is confirmed that he will no longer be EVEN a squad player, it will be interesting to see whether come January he will choose to continue to be an ARTIST, or a player….By the way Arsene Wenger did say recently he… Read more »
The cub don’t seem to care about their image anymore. It’s the era of the Mafiosi at the Emirates.
But Elneny gets picked over Ozil.
Sorry, but that’s just mental. There is no justifying his inclusion over the German’s especially when Ozil is so talented and possesses the one thing the team lacks: creativity.
But that’s not true. Elneny and Ozil don’t play in the same position. Elneny has never played where Ozil used to, and Ozil couldn’t play where Elneny does.
I think what blogs is trying to say is that we give Momo a shot at the number 10 role.
with coaching he could be the new ramsey.
not as good but decent enough to get away from his ‘mr.average’ reputation.
Really?
I mean really?
Is it ability we are talking about or the willingness of either manager or player?
You are saying Ozil couldn’t play center midfield ahead of ElNeny and Xhaka?
Whatever all the Arteta fanboys (and club sycophants by extension) may say, I am sure Ozil can play a role a la Santi in later years along with a genuine destroyer like Le Coq.
Yeah. We are just Arteta fanboys.
Never mind the fact that Ozil fell out with Ljungberg and Emery before Mikel and his attitude was constantly scrutinised while playing under Wenger.
I think the “no smoke without fire” adage works here. Arteta has nothing to gain by dropping him. Ozil isn’t going anywhere. He just hasn’t seen a good enough attempt at wining a place to consider him.
If he did play a player whose training demeanour was lacklustre, what would that say to the young lads who we are supposed to be nurturing?
Yes, I suppose Willian must have been a beast in training to be selected as false 9 to put that very gargantuan shift against City.
Um, yeah. Very likely he was.
It’s no surprise that Arteta picks the best trainers. He says it every press conference.
I’ve seen hundreds of miserable Ozil performances – literally – so I’m not sure what your point is.
My point is if I have to watch miserable performances , I would rather have those from a player who is going to give his best years ahead for us. Heck , I would play ESR, Nelson there just as Wenger would do with a player like young Rambo, who had some miserable spells for us in early years still was played in that position and in return we got a more rounded player 24 years of age in his breakout season. I would certainly want more from a player who was brought under the promise who would immediately improve… Read more »
Well we are all great football managers with hindsight.
I personally would want the Brazil international with over 70 caps who has won every major competition in the modern game on the field.
But if you want to give it to a guy who had a successful 6 month loan spell at Huddersfield, then you are entitled to that opinion.
I can’t help but feel had Arteta played ESM and he had a nightmare, you might be lamenting the stupidity of not playing Willian.
I also respect your opinion about wanting a 70 international cap experienced player.
But just to clarify over your last line, I guess my earlier comment pretty much convey that I won’t lament not playing Willian.
I clearly explained with Rambo’s example that I am more willing to put a youngster there whatever may be the performance in a match or two.
That’s fine but just don’t expect champions league football for a minimum of 3 seasons if you want to play the youth over experienced internationals.
I am not expecting that even this season tbh. Pools and City are going to be there. Looking at the firepower that Che$ea stocked, even if Lampard f*cks up (which I suspect will)Abramovich can always get in a care taker who will ensure that squad will get to top 4. United squad are much better than the early signs. Apart from that there is always Leicester and small matter of Aston villa showing signs of 2016 Leicester. Ofcourse there is Ancelloti at Everton playing a football style which will actually take a team far in the long season. Arsenal also… Read more »
What are you talking about? Saka/ Eddie/ Martinelli/Gabriel/AMN . Our team is full of young players playing.
Don’t forget the German national team too. It was painfully obvious his ambition and drive had waned before last WC and is a fraction of the figure he was several years ago and that showed in international games too. It’s not going to come back. Do people actually believe a player so low in confidence, drive and motivation can make a difference?
I wholeheartedly agree with you….BringGunner…Ozil is truly such a great ARTIST that many football fans has become blind to his displays on and off the pitch in the last 4 years..He was a great player before but he has transformed into a truly world class ARTIST at Arsenal….
Özil could play a role as santi can? An Arteta out person who has no idea about football. You’re a disgrace. You’re not a gooner anyways so why don’t you toddle off to whatever club you actually support temporarily.
Re: StockholmGooner, “When you start supporting a football club, you don’t support it because of the trophies, or a player, or history, you support it because you found yourself somewhere there; found a place where you belong”. And I have found my club, just am tad sad because of the “disgrace” the hierarchy is pulling. Apologies if I have hurt my fellow gooners , but all in all my heart says all the Ozil saga(including Gunnersauras firing, 50 odd layoff after tricking players to be the only ones in PL to take the pay cut) doesn’t sit with values that… Read more »
Özil and Coquelin in a double pivot? Is this ment to be ironic? Or satiric? Or just another daft opinion? I can’t tell anymore.
Hmmm, why not? Wasn’t Santi shifted to this by Monsieur Wenger because of his age, other flair players available, and most importantly his capacity to hold on to the ball and circulate the play without losing the ball? Would Ozil not be able to play(ofcourse player must be willing) given his ball retention capabilities are much better than Xhaka? (Remember Xhaka needs two-three touches before he can shift the ball in forward play, and his usual outlet is a defender when he is being pressed and the exact reason he is being managed by Arteta to have even less ball?)… Read more »
Sorry, Blogs, I wasn’t clear, the position they play in isn’t what I’m getting at. We have no one who adds what Ozil does to our side. Partey and Xhaka play similar roles to Elneny whilst also having qualities about their game that you can put your finger on and say with confidence adds something to the way we play. Elneny adds nothing other than running around a bit and some sideways or backward passes. Ozil dictates games, creates chances and finds space in between the lines. Remember when we signed Aubameyang and the whole fanbase was giddy with excitement… Read more »
sorry, *comes from above Arteta
This blog and similar comments section are little bubble of Ozil hate. It’s little pockets of sanctimonious mainly middle aged (sorry) men blowing smoke up each other’s arse and nodding in agreement. Out in the wider world the majority agree with you.Saw a poll of 38,000 fans and over 70% wanted him playing and that’s from a British source. Internationally the support for Ozil is significantly higher, Disgraceful from the club and going to do massive damage to Arsenal’s global reputation and ability to attract fans in the future. Obviously not about football.They will be percieved as China’s puppet or… Read more »
Shit football thats all i have seen thus far this season- where have the days of the Arsenal way gone—-
gone in an attempt to be like citeh and pool but no where near as good
harp as much as you like about the trophies -we are playing abysmal football-
no way are we finishing top 4
so surprised that auba stayed– he says he want to be a legend—sorry mate you have arrived in the wrong time- no statue for u–no matter how many you score
Genuine question is Aouar so much of a hard working defencive midfielder , who does all the things ozil lacks as well as his creativity.? Am not saying start Ozil, but take the weekend, one nil down ten minutes to go we looking for one creative pass from ozil/ Aouar to go for a draw ( or a 2-0 loss) We had three CF on the pitch , he had taken off Pepe , william . A goal and a point , could help champions League football and then helps attract Aouar. He are paying ozil may as well use… Read more »
Well you said yourself mate…Giroud gone …Auba and Laca comes in.., you are still waiting till today for something special to happen…instead Ozil just got worse and worse everyday…Any point in keeping such a player any longer mate?
We don’t play with a 10 at all to facilitate extra holding players such as Elneny, maybe that’s the point he’s trying to make
… And lacks so many far more important things. Like commitment, drive, or humility.
But, hey, his PR is right up there with the best so we should pick him.
Kroenke is in bed with China, it all started with Ozil calling the genocide being committed by its name. This has nothing to do with Ozils quality, it has to do with KSEs interests in China.
This would be just about a theory if Ozil hadn’t made those comments in Dec 19 and played consistently right up until March 2020.
Kudos on having those dates do close to mind! Not sure Ozil ever played consistently under Emery though.
What are your thoughts on KSE in bed with China?
I hope they allowed the lights to dim sum before Stan got his crispy balls out…
P.S. Emery was sacked by Dec ’19. I didn’t even have to look that one up.
Leno gets picked over Ozil too. Apples and oranges.,,,
Absolute disgrace how Eddie Nketiah gets starts for Arsenal while Nicklas Bendtner, The Greatest Striker Who Ever Lived, only gets picked for podcasts on the club website.
Shambles of a club
Creativity my friend creativity. One major thing that is lacking. And approach in transfer market doesn’t fill my heart with optimism. Arteta clearly prioritised steel over grace when we broke the war chest Monsieur Wenger left us(not Kroenke which many people believe and what the current manager and the management want us to believe). Ozil’s freezing and exclusion would have made sense if we had spent half what Chelsea spent in terms of quality in creativity(at least one olayer which I believed Aouar is) and not some already 32 years old looking for his last contract and looking to stay… Read more »
All the people wanting Ozil in the team would have a valid point if we were talking about pre-contract Ozil.. But we aren’t. He’s already packed it in, he has no motivation to play football any more. All the evidence is in the story above, he’s staying at arsenal knowing he can’t play a game no matter what happens…
He may go in to play til later 30’s at his next club , having had a good rest and his loyalty bonus.
The creativity I agree with you and the team is sufering because of his ommision, But apart from Villa we have the best defence in prem but lacking with goals. This table should give you a fair idea; PosTeamPWDLFAGpGPts 7 Tottenham Hotspur 5 2 2 1 15 8 3.0 8 1 Everton 5 4 1 0 14 7 2.8 13 3 Liverpool 5 3 1 1 13 13 2.6 10 8 Chelsea 5 2 2 1 13 9 2.6 8 2 Aston Villa 4 4 0 0 12 2 3.0 12 4 Leicester City 5 3 0 2 12 8… Read more »
You really like them Özil pictures, huh?
It’s all a bit sad really. For all his flaws, I have taken great pleasure watching Ozil gracefully caress a football around the pitch and the way he saw angles and possibilities no one else could. He genuinely excited for those first few seasons. The nostalgic side of me was hoping for one final flourish, but that now seems unlikely. Imperfect as he was for Arsenal, I’m grateful for some wonderful memories.
Those goals—too few and far in between—where he chopped the ball to the ground were crazy special.
Ozil doesn’t work when we don’t have the ball. Simple as that. Good move by Arteta. If Ozil had any pride left then move on in January. I’m sure Arsenal will subsidize his wages if he went on loan.
Cech coming out of retirement for Chelsea? What’s going on there? Haha
He does but maybe not in the way Arteta wants him to. But still too good a player to be left out for purely footballing reasons.
Well, i dont care what anybody says in justification, this just leaves a bad taste in the mouth
Can we FINALLY move on??
YES please.
Hmm he’s more Arsenal than Kroenke ever will be if moving on means shrugging our shoulders and forgetting he’s there then bollocks to that. Doesn’t stop me supporting the lads who do play.
Really sorry it ends like this.
But given the system, Ozil does not get in the team. No press. No play. Soks can’t safely pass out from the back. So for all the talent it’s goodbye to both.
make an enemy out of china, and this is what happens?
He was being left out of the side way before that comment was made. No need for tinfoil hats.
Yea by emery… and to the detriment of the team… And I’d argue this defensively solid team would finally be the right one for Ozil to thrive. There no need to blindly agree with the headlines either! Whether he played 10 games or not after his comments, the reaction from China was massive. And the interests for club, Premier League, and KSE, in China, are real. Written with my investor hat on. Secondly – the unspoken reason Ozil is so popular is because he is Muslim. There are 1.8B muslims on earth, growing rapidly. Many Arsenal fans, and I assume… Read more »
And by Ljundberg. And even by Wenger himself a fair bit in the last season he was here. I applaud him for his stance on the situation in China, although it would no doubt be a bit more meaningful if he wasn’t doing the whole selfies with Erdogan thing. None of that changes the fact that he hasn’t been a regular starter for quite a while, under no less than 4 different managers. And when he has played he is clearly a shadow of the player he used to be. How much of that is decline, and how much of… Read more »
I think that they can both still play in the League Cup, unlikely I know but still possible?
The writing has been on the wall for quite some time. It is sad though. I hope the club and the players are able to meet somewhere in between and amicably part ways before seeming like utter twats. Neither side comes out of this smelling of roses.
A shitshow for all concerned and an ignominious way for both to end their Arsenal careers. Will be a cautionary tale for players that, for whatever reason, don’t leave clubs where they are unwanted. Also a cautionary tale for clubs that offer players way over the odds in their advanced years…
Yeah, Arsenal needed to send this message, especially with so many young impressionable players at the club.
A cautionary tale indeed.
I suspect sending a message is the point
Whatever his deficiencies it’s hard to see it makes sense to leave him out of the squad altogether
Seems like with Arteta, not everything is gonna make sense to us.
There’s not a fan alive that would’ve started David Luiz (who was in terrible form) or played AMN on the left in the FA Cup semi and Final but Arteta did and we won the ting.
He’s earned a little bit of trust, just like Wenger did in ’97.
Yeah this certainly doesn’t make sense to me, he was playing well enough before the break to justify a place in the squad. We lack creativity.
We have 4 GKs and 5 CBs in there, three of whom are injured long term (plus Tierney and Kola who can play there).
There is clearly more to this than so called non-negotiables. You’d think from a pragmatic perspective he’d be played in certain circumstances. Ah well at least this shit show can be put to bed for a while before the inevitable conclusion in January or June.
Who exactly do you leave out instead of Ozil though? The only player I can think of is Mustafi, but Arteta still played him after the restart and he’s useful to have around if you want the option of playing 3 CBs. The reality is that Ozil’s face no longer fits. It’s not about China or whatever, it’s about the style, the team and the squad. We currently play with 3 at the back, reports suggest that Arteta wants to play 4-3-3 in the long term. In both, pressing and hard work will be key. Ozil doesn’t fit in either… Read more »
Bang on, esp the two kind of players part
With this decision though, he could blow the fucking lot.
People on here were already getting salty when we lost to Liverpool; since then we’ve just about scraped past Sheffield Utd at home and lost to City, whilst playing football so boring on the eye that it makes Terry Neil’s Bradyless bunch of 1981 look like Holland 1970.
‘A cautionary tale’ – behave!
Are we mixing it with the top clubs? Have we been regularly involved in the title race? Have we even so much as had a sniff of fourth place?
Have we fuck.
This is only a cautionary tale in terms of any future world class players out there at school to join any other club than Arsenal – who are making themselves the laughing stock of world football.
So Özil got £8 million as a loyalty bonus for reaching the last year of his contract? And people wonder why he wanted to stick around rather than move in the last transfer window?
£8 million loyalty bonus!? seems a bit much. no wonder he was more than willing to cover gunnersaurus’ wages
Arsenal are a better football team with Ozil in the 25-man squad than they are without him. I love(d) watching creative, attacking players like Van de Donk and Bergkamp and Ozil, especially in red and white. I really, really hope and pray that Arteta has something up his sleeve for our attacking options going forward as not including one of the world’s best creators in a squad desperately lacking chances created feels like a profound mistake, especially considering how central Ozil was to Arteta’s team prior to the pandemic. Sad to see it end like this. I thought Emery was… Read more »
I don’t understand Sokratis’ situation. If we haven’t included him in the EL/PL list what are we keeping him for? Can he play the domestic Cup games?
Wouldn’t it be better to agree to cancel his contract, particularly if as reported Sokratis would like that?
He can still move in January.
If he wants to play that is. He might have to take a pay cut, or otherwise Arsenal might subsidize part of his contract. Either way, some money would be saved.
But still, color me confused why we gave him a three year contract in the first place. He’d been showing signs of decline for at least two seasons before we got him.
Counting down until we never see another one of these articles on Ozil; be that January or May.
Embarrassing from the club.. that’s so unArsenal. Anyways let’s move on maybe he will play from January onwards
Somewhere else hopefully
“We knew that before the transfer window, we tried to resolve that, we tried to get some players opportunities elsewhere”
To me as this is a clear message and sets a precedent that Arsenal will not be held hostage by players that want to stay for the wages even when they have clearly been informed they were not going to play.
Make no mistake if the player valued playing he would have moved a long time ago.
Not to mention if the player were valued by other clubs.
It’s a short career as good as the money might seem. Moving for a substantial paycut when you’re near the end of it wouldn’t appeal to most. Alternatively, moving somewhere you don’t want to even for more money is understandable. Personally I most certainly wouldn’t play in the middle east as was rumoured Ozil had the opportunity to do. Maybe it didn’t appeal to him or his wife. Saying he’d move on if he was serious about playing oversimplifies the decision he has to make.
I love a conspiracy theory, so I wonder if we shall ever find out what the Özil story was all about. I don’t want to think that Arteta is a weakling. I am already having my doubts about his selections. A sad day for AFC.
Once Ozil goes at the end of the season. He’s not going to share his side of the story beforehand.
And I agree… a sad day.
It was the Lizard people, combined with Trump and the Chinese.
How the hell did we write a loyalty clause into Ozil’s contract?? We’re paying him to stay when he won’t leave? Surely someone must have known that Ozil is the “loyal” type and that a loyalty clause would be a waste of money…
This was back in 2018 after Sanchez had left.
Shame we could not call on Ozil even if in limited capacity in his final season with us. but its a bloated squad. even with kolasinac still semi-involved (If there are still converns with Tierney’s full fitness and AMN’s concentration level) say we have just barely squeeze through with the number and there is still Chambers and Mustafi. OTOH midfield resource is actually quite thin still with Ceballos likely main creator then Elneny, Willock, Xhaka and Partey more supporting midfield from deep. The worry is if something happens to Ceballos if we have enough options creatively. Willian can be shifted… Read more »
what does ceballos create?
Sweet fuck all.
The optics on Sokratis just look wrong wrong wrong.
Well, who saw that coming? I hope he won’t get bored. Perhaps he can busy himself counting his recent loyalty bonus – that should take a few months at least.
As long as he doesn’t watch Arsenal, he won’t get bored.
With Rob Holding being out for 3-4 weeks, would it possible to add Sokratis now, and bring back Holding in January? why would we put our team down one player? what am I missing here?
We got Holding, Mustafi, Mari and Chambers injured. We only have David Luiz and Gabriel as main Center backs, and looks like Saliba is not ready. I know we play Tierney as CB, but if either David Luiz or Gabriel get injured we might be short.
We have 4 defenders returning from injury. we can update the squad list in january. those 3 defenders will likely not be able to feature yet till then. and law of averages means risk of re injury is high. why risk playing luiz and gabriel in all our fixtures till then when sokratis is an experienced player than can be used/provide cover. It all smells funny imagine if one of those pair gets injured. Also we are basically say injured players who wont feature have a better chance to contribute than ozil and sokratis till January. very hard to see… Read more »
Its alwys interesting how fans scream loyalty when a player ask for transfer and mercenary for honoring a contract agreed upon by two parties. Whatever you think of Özil hes entitled to his contract.
The sad thing is none of us know what’s happening behind the scenes.
Feel a bit sorry for Sokratis here. He’s been a pro during his time here and has never done anything glaring to be left out. Just a casualty of our yearly failure to move players on. Hopefully he can get a move in Jan and actually play in in his latter years.
Ozil isn’t the player he used to be and his attributes do not fit into the current Arsenal system.
Sad ending but the correct decision by Arteta. Onwards and upwards
And bringing in Willian……I just dont get it……..and worse still he gets to play.
I mean we’ve been nurturing young players and other squad members in order to get them playing, but fuck no…..let’s try this lad.
I’m utterly confused and yes I’ve had a drink, but where the fuck are we going?
Wow!
What a surprise!
I wish folari can be playing europa the boy is too good for u23
#bringbendtnerback
No way this is a football decision
We must have some squad to leave Ozil out of it! Oh wait – have you seen it? Don’t worry we can run and close down really well apart from when they score and then we can’t pass to our strikers to equalise – we need some creative passing – great – bring on Elneny. Make the most of the Europa this year lads!
Sounds like they had offers to move but refused them.
If this £8m loyalty bonus is true, will he forfeit the bonus if he doesn’t see out the season with Arsenal? If so, then status quo remains and he sits on his Arse bring paid like a King. If the bonus is already in the bank, then just maybe he will finally request a transfer. The whole situation is just plain embarrassing for all involved. Arse playing a game of chicken with their highest paid player and neither wants to concede anything. Embarrassing and pathetic
Yeet
We’re going to miss out on the ECL yet again – I have no idea what you’re ‘yeeting’ about….
Arsenal is just making sure Ozil’s wages sure looks like eating chaff with rice. Go ahead and earn your wages but you won’t be doing what you love, Ozil. But I don’t care says Ozil. Just being dramatic folks.
It’s a sad turn of events.
Huge fan of Ozil but support his exclusion from the squad for footballing reasons. I just hope it was for footballing reasons. I’m sure he had offers elsewhere but rejected them. On the whole, both sides are to blame.
Arsenal has messed big time on this. Field Elnenny and bench Ozil!? Pity. Emery fell at the Ozil huddle Arteta will at the same. We will fail at the cross line just because of Omitting Ozil. Both at the premier league and Europa.
I find arteta has no cojones nor balls.
Top post, mate. Way too many people on this page are failing to grasp what you, me and the vast majority of Arsenal fans – especially the old school – have known all summer. Namely that without Ozil’s creativity, we are – for this season at least – up shit creek in terms of making top four and qualifying for next season’s ECL – something that is imperative for this club to have any hope of catching up with the big boys. Arteta has taken a gamble too far in my opinion. If our results for this year are exceptionally… Read more »
Has there ever been a player that has been paid so much for so little in Ozil?
Yeah, Sanchez’s contract at Man U.