Mesut Ozil has released a statement expressing his disappointment at being left out of Arsenal’s Premier League squad.
With 19 non-homegrown players on the books, Arsenal had to cut two names to fit with squad profile rules. Alongside Ozil, Greek international Sokratis also missed out. The duo had already been excluded from the Europa League group stage squad for the same reasons.
While it’s not impossible for Ozil to return to the fold in the new year – clubs can re-jig their squad following the January transfer window – everything points to the German having played his final game for the club.
Writing on social media, he said:
“This is a difficult message to write to the Arsenal fans that I’ve played for over the past few years. I’m really disappointed by the fact that I have not been registered for the Premier League season for the time being. Upon signing my new contract in 2018, I pledged my loyalty and allegiance to the club that I love, Arsenal, and it saddens me that this has not been reciprocated. As I have just found out, loyalty is hard to come by nowadays. I’ve always tried to remain positive from week to week that there’s maybe a chance to get back in the squad again soon. That’s why I kept silent so far.
“Before the Coronavirus break I was really happy with the development under our new coach Mikel Arteta – we’ve been on a positive way and I would say my performances were on a really good level. But then things changed, again, and I was not longer allowed to play football for Arsenal.
“What else can I say? London still feels like home, I still have many good friends in this team, and I still feel a strong connection with the fans of this club. No matter what, I will keep fighting for my chance and not let my 8th season at Arsenal end like this. I can promise you that this hard decision won’t change anything in my mindset – I will continue to train as best as I can and wherever possible use my voice against inhumanity and for justice.”
As things stand, squad size limitations aside, it’s not clear how we reached a point where our highest earner and one-time record signing isn’t considered worthy of a place in the senior squad.
While Ozil fell out of favour under Unai Emery and had a bit of a bust-up with Freddie Ljungberg, he featured regularly in Mikel Arteta’s matchday squads until lockdown restrictions were imposed in March.
There have been some suggestions that Ozil’s absence is a result of his decision in December to speak out about China’s persecution of its Uighur community; a statement that the club distanced themselves from for fear of commercial repercussions in the region. It’s worth pointing out that the midfielder played 10 consecutive Premier League games for Arteta after that.
Ozil was also included in the squads for away games against Brighton and Southampton in June, not long after his teammates accepted a pay cut to minimise the financial strain on the club as it came to terms with the financial fallout of the pandemic.
When Arsenal subsequently made 55 members of staff redundant, Ozil told The Athletic that he felt his decision was justified because the club had rushed players into making a decision without all the necessary information. His agent had earlier made similar comments on Rafael Honigstein’s Steilcast podcast.
Most recently, Ozil offered to cover the wages of Jerry Quy, the Arsenal employee who fulfils the role of mascot Gunnersaurus, when he was released on a temporary basis by the club. The gesture came less than 24 hours after Thomas Partey was signed for €50 million and a few days after he picked up an £8 million bonus for staying at the club into the final year of the contract he signed in January 2018.
Ozil will be free to leave the club next summer and can speak to foreign suitors in January.
always such a victim Mesut Ozil
How dare you say a word abt mesut !
Haha
I think we all acknowledge he is king at PR but let’s set out the truth best as we know it 1. China human rights- What ozil did affected the commercial aspect of the club and the club’s quick response showed the lack of proper values just because of sponsorship. Did ozil speak out because of a PR stunt? I think not. Accusations about him not pointing out Human rights abuse in turkey is missing the point and is more or less a deflection. 2. Demands for assurances for the pay cut- the demands he apparently made weren’t out of… Read more »
How is the Human rights abuse in turkey more or less a deflection?? He spoke out against the human rights abuse in China, which some think was not OK for finical reasons, and some say good for Ozil for speaking out. But if he truly cares about human rights, he should speak out against the Turkish government and their brutality against the Kurds. You cant have it both way, I am sorry. I think the club is 50% at fault for giving him this stupid contract, and Ozil is equally at fault for being a hypocrite and so stubborn. Both… Read more »
The point I’m trying to make is that if he, you or I protest at one thing the fact that we haven’t elsewhere doesn’t take away from what we are currently protesting. I’m from Kenya. If I join the protest for poor treatment of others in different country and I don’t do the same in mine does that take away from what I am currently doing. We can always find faults. Recognize and give fair appreciation for that without that. We all know if you or I had the same influence as ozil had with the president we’d more than… Read more »
Posted without completing some thoughts.
@bloggs would it be possible in future to add an edit option.
…Recognize and give fair appreciation for that without detracting or devaluing the current action…
Wenger was in charge of all football decisions & had the final say.
If the club (100% owned by Kroenke) is responsible it was putting too much faith in Wenger & Gazidis & later the Wheeler Dealer. Two of whom left under a cloud & the third like a rat deserting a sinking ship having gnawed away at the foundations first..
I made a comment about Turkey but that isn’t to say I don’t admire that he spoke up about Uighur Muslims. He is a prominent and celebrated figure in Turkey, his voice carries alot of weight, and yet there is silence because he’s pals with Erdogan. It’s easy to be a hero when there are no personal consequences for you, much harder not to overlook abuses when there are. As in that message, he holds himself out, creates an image of himself as a fighter for social justice, yet endorses an abusive regime. That’s hypocrisy. I’m not sure what point… Read more »
It is deflection because the point being made is the possibility that Ozil’s comments about China are the reason for his exclusion (I’m not saying that is true, just that this is the specific question raised). Assuming that his failure to speak about Turkey shows him to be hypocritical or a coward or stupid is *irrelevant* to the actual point–no one, absolutly no one, believes it could be the cause of his exclusion. So, here’s why it’s a deflection: Speaker A: “Ozil is being excluded from Arsenal because he angered the Chinese government.” Speaker B: “But he didn’t speak out… Read more »
Mesut Ozil: I will “wherever possible use my voice against inhumanity and for justice.”
Person: But you don’t and especially in one glaringly obvious case in which you could make a great deal of difference.
Is that ok for you? That was a quote from the article I commented on? I don’t know who this speaker A is you’ve used to frame what I said.
Of course it doesn’t help explain the reasons behind the exclusion which I also addressed.
There are country where talking about your faith to others is officially punished by death penalty if your faith is not the majority faith. This is worse than China. Ozil saying that BLM support is selective should look in the mirror. I support the Uighur of course but Ozil’s hypocrisy needs to be pointed out.
Didn’t the victim just receive an 8 million pound LOYOLTY cheque from the club?
He’s like a boyfriend/girlfriend that doesn’t allow you to break up with them…
David who hurt you….
Nobody ever mate. I have nothing but love in my life!
If the man had any pride whatsoever he would have gone and found another club. He has every right to sit out the contract he was offered but Arsenal have every right not to play him. That he has opted to sit out his contract tells us all we need to know about him. Whatever the reasons for him being dropped are, he is not good for moral. Wenger said that allowances were made for him at training and you can’t have different rules for different players. You only need to see the cohesion under Arteta to understand this is… Read more »
Why can’t you have different rules for different players? There are different salaries and contracts for different players, and different jobs on the pitch, and different responsibilities for promoting the club and advertising it. Isn’t it naive to think that all players are treated equally, when clearly they are not?
I think there are acceptable differences, and unacceptable differences. See Arteta’s ‘non-negotiables’.
Also noting as the highest paid/most creative/other plaudit player, you will be a role model to others in the team and youth ranks. If you look at when he had most free reign (later Wenger years), we had no spine, no resilience and yes we scored beautiful goals occasionally, but at least three of our forwards had a major strop.
Sure, yes, but I wonder at what point an element of hypocrisy creeps into the acceptable and unacceptable distinction, and into the all-around standards against which a playmaker is judged. Arsenal didn’t sign Ozil to be a hard tackler or a gritty player; they signed him to create goal scoring opportunities. No one in his right mind would expect Ozil to firm up anything let alone a team’s spine – that’s not his purpose on the football pitch. I understand what the club are doing here and why they are doing it in cutting Ozil from the competitive squad, and… Read more »
He does not fit our system anymore. Arteta wants players that will press and that has never been part of Ozil’s game. He could do it but doesn’t and that is perhaps why people do not consider him to be up for it. MA has always been clear about his non-negotiables and I believe him when he says Ozil has been left out for footballing reasons. Players of course get different salaries but those on the highest salaries should be setting high standards for the others. Ozil seems to think that he has been left out because of his remarks… Read more »
Arsenal USED to sign Ozil for his goal scoring opportunities during Wenger period. The game play has changed now, so either you adapt or you switch club to one that suit your style. Cech is a old school goalie, but he tried to adopt to modern football who plays out from the back (not the most convincing though) The point is, if he still loves football and Arsenal as he claimed, then leave us and find a club that doesn’t require him to be a hard tackler or gritty player who plays to his strength. Dun try to disrupte the… Read more »
One things for certain, they’ll be no statue outside the Emirates for our Mesut.
And so the PR war begins…
The difference is he’s no longer fighting an unpopular coach on his last legs so he won’t have nearly the support he did when he fought Emery. He would have certainly known before the year where he stood and actually chose this. Let that sink in — he chose this
Yup . Emery is one thing. But affection wise arteta equals him and freddie beats him hands down. Flamini said arsene used to give ozil the occassional day off.. 3 managers say he’s not working hard enough. Says it all. He just retired the moment he got the bumper new deal.
He retired before that. He was never a great player , even in Madrid. He had a fantastic second season when we signed Alexis but as far as his career goes he always was a gifted passenger. He is part of Wenger falling down from grace as he always saw him as a really talented player but he never had the shoulders and character for high level football. Goodbye Mesut I’m neither sad nor worried for you with your payslip. #nickedaliving
Like him or not your simply can’t say he was never a great player.
Don’t forget his fallout with the German setup.
He chose this. Period.
Stay at home for a year and bank a fortune, or play football for a lot less money?
Ozil is living right now, and you can’t knock him for that
Except those weren’t remotely his choices. For ease let’s say he makes 25m this year if he never plays (350k per week plus 8m loyalty bonus). The club was on the hook for that no matter what. He could have easily pulled a Sanchez etc. and said to the club – “I’ll settle for 17m if you give me a free transfer”. The club saves 8m in a year we’re trying to raise funds for transfers. He then gets to go sign with anyone he wants & just needs to find someone willing to pay him 150k a week to… Read more »
Somehow, it feels like it is absolutely his choice to stay rather than go somewhere else to play. Why would he want to leave if he is paid 25m and stay in the center of universe than going somewhere remote and have to put in the real work? I’d do exactly what he did.
On the other hand, I’d love to see he pick up the bills to help all the employees made redundant in addition to Gunnersaurs until they reach retirement. And he sure has the capability.
I would add maybe the pandemic situation didn’t help. No clubs were taking big risk. Maybe even the players themselves had a less appetite for risk. Ozil for example just started a family, had a close call with muggers etc. The virus rules out the MLS, Ozil rules out China. Overall I want Ozil and Arsenal to part ways but not in this ugly manner that’s going to go on for another few months. Everything about Ozil has been said but the one thing that sours me over this whole situation was Arsenal “leaking” only Ozil’s name during the paycut… Read more »
I will knock him for acting like he is in love with the club and is so disappointed at not being able to play, not for doing a Winston Bogarde.
At least Winston was honest about it.
I will knock him, i will knock him the fuck out the money grabbing slag
Begins?
But i have to admit his PR team is incredibly good. The timing is immaculate – just like Ozil in his prime. They keep patiently waiting like a hungry lion for its prey and at the right moment devour it. Worth every penny Ozil has paid them.
I guess it depends what their objective is. If it’s only to get people to pity him then he’s clearly winning over some people and alienating others. If it’s to look after his best interests as a football professional then their approach strikes me as nothing other than unwise. He comes across as spoilt and whining, not wanting to be part of a collective – no decent club will come in for him after this. He’ll drift into the backwaters of the game and become irrelevant which will also damage any realistic hopes of making anything from his sports shoe… Read more »
I don’t think he is interested in the game of football anymore, he is all set to become a politician in due course of time.
Yes, but it is still a bunch of BS. No matter the spin, the PR masterclass, whatever, it is still not the truth, just ego games (like politicians) and he has refused to take any responsibility. The club still paid him massively and will pay him much more, while he should take a good long look at his delivery when on the pitch, which is appaling.
Yea.. Looks like the msg was ready for months
He’s lost the plot at this point though. He wants to build a lasting brand to keep making him money even after his career ends. He no longer has the Addidas sponsorship and is banking entirely on his M10 brand. Rather than taking a payoff and moving on which would allow him to play and build his brand – he’s choosing to take shots at a popular manager (he’s at least smart enough to refer to the club even if it’s Arteta he’s complaining about) and sit out an entire year.
He hasn’t taken a shot at Arteta though. That particular comment is a bit of a reach.
He’s accusing the club of “disloyalty” by not playing him or selecting him for the PL squad. Arteta is the one who makes those decisions & the one he’s ultimately complaining about. Ozil & his pr team are smart enough to label his complaints about the club even if it’s 100% Arteta he’s accusing of disloyalty.
That’s an assumption. We have absolutely NO idea how autonomous Arteta is. We have NO idea what led to Ozil being ostracised, whether it was the comments about the situation in China, whether it was the pay rise issue, whether he really is underperforming on the field or whether he called Mikel a c-u-next-Tuesday to his face.
We have snippets from him and deflections from the club. Unless you’re claiming to have inside information…?
So whatever we THINK and assume, it isn’t stated that Arteta is who he is talking about when he says “the club”.
Edit: …when he says “I was no longer allowed to play…”
The issue with the whole it’s the club and not Arteta benching Ozil is it just flies in the face of so much of what we know about all the parties. It’s clear the Chinese comments had nothing to do with Ozil’s benching as he played a bunch of games post that. It’s also clear that Ozil has a history of falling out with managers – Emery, Freddie, Arteta & there were even questions about his relationship with Wenger at the end. Arteta has shown himself to be anything but weak willed to the point where he was even promoted… Read more »
Again, assumptions. Saying “it’s clear” doesn’t make it so. I’m making the point that we don’t have as much information as you seem to have to make assertions as you’re doing. For example, Emery let slip that he was told not to play Ozil. Freddie favoured the kids he knew from the his time at the academy. Arteta played Ozil in pre-season as well as before the stop. So is it REALLY just a case of Ozil falling out / clashing with coaches? The truth is I don’t know and I’m okay to admit that. I’m not going to create… Read more »
In addition, name me ONE business owner who would condone, purely from a financial perspective, an employee refusing to use his most expensive asset that he is paying for, especially if that asset is the only one of its kind in the array of assets he has…
Dude Kroenke owns tons of American sports franchises. This literally happens all the time where teams will cut players and eat chunks of their salary if they don’t think they can perform/are the right fit anymore. In fact Kroenke’s LA Rams cut the running back they signed to the largest RB contract in history only 2 years prior – eating a bunch of salary cap money in the process. So to answer your question:
KROENKE. Go right on down the list of PL owners by the way – a lot own American franchises who do this all the time.
It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to assume that somehow this is a club dictated decision that somehow Ozil isn’t a part of. Especially as the whole it’s about the money thing got blown apart when we signed Auba to a larger contract, Willian & Partey this year. Either way the best thing for the club is that Ozil is going to fade away either in Jan or the end the of the year and no longer will be the story. Time for both sides to move on.
So you’re saying it’s the club. Or Kroenke… not Ozil falling out with his coaches?
I think you’re having trouble reading…. The evidence very clearly points to this being Arteta’s decision & that Kroenke would back him in that. Kroenke has backed his other decision makers in the past when they’ve moved on from big name players. You’re performing a lot of mental gymnastics to try to put the blame on the club rather than recognizing Ozil has a history of problems with managers.
I know this is a big shock to Ozil defenders but footballers learn from a young age that you are not ENTITLED to start games based on talent alone. Or how much you earn.
Well, if you ask Mikel, you are. On talent at least.
Is the asset a rare antique piece of furniture and the business owner a farmer? Cause that farmer would have about as much use for that furniture as Arsenal has for Ozil at this point. And probably as many potential buyers in a COVID-devastated economy (none).
Sorry but no, please get your own facts right. Unai Emery did not say that. Kindly produce the quote where Emery said “I was told not to play him”. It does not exist. What Emery said was he had the support of the club in making team selections, as all coaches/managers should. “We have one agreed strategy because the most important thing is the team.” He was talking about moving towards a team that presses from the front, not about Ozil. He specifically said in that presser “now is now the time to talk about Ozil”. And “Freddie favouring the… Read more »
What makes the Ozil stuff so bizarre is just the extent to which you have embrace conspiracy theories and ignore evidence to support him in this.
Thank you. Emery is (rightly) being forgotten in a hurry. But under Freddie? The sheer entitlement that reeks from every word of that camel dung is repulsive in every sense. It has been a long journey from being over the moon about Özil to defending him against the “nicking a living” shite to having misgivings about the size of that contract to being frustrated with his performances but still supporting him against Emery in what was a clear power struggle against an unpopular manager, to being done with him and his antics. I am a proper Özil hater now after… Read more »
Fair enough, the comment wasn’t stated in the best way but the fundamental point I am making is one given by le Professor… “What’s happening at the moment between him and the club looks to be more confrontational, it’s not [only] based on sport, I’m convinced.”
I will be the first to admit that he is divisive and flawed as a man (Erdogan support) and as a footballer (going missing at times) but there is no way that this is purely laziness or greed or whatever other vice you want to levy at him.
Except that everyone inside the club all knew that ozil was too lazy to keep his fitness during the lockdown. Arteta cant even play him because he hasnt been match fit for a long time. Despite what the pr team says, Ozil is actually not even interested in playing football anymore.
No comment…
If I recall that interview in the Athletic with Ozil during preseason, he hinted it was more of an issue with the people in the board room and not with the manager(s).
Ozil has become Arsenal’s Winston Bogarde. And for those who don’t know Winston as bought in 2000 & given £40K a week by Chelsea without the then manager Vialli knowing anything about it, who was then sacked 2 weeks later & replaced by Ranieri who didn’t want to know anything about him, who was replaced by Mourinho who never knew he was on the books. He played a handful of games in 4 years but spent the time training with the reserves & then the academy juniors as Chelsea desperately tried to force him out the club. Chelsea fans slaughtered… Read more »
Disappointed … but hardly surprised, surely. No point going over old ground but it’s pretty clear – even to Ozil – that his association with Arsenal is fast coming to an end. When he finally leaves next June he will go down in the record books as the most expensive flop (for whatever reason(s)) in the club’s history. A shame, but there it is.
Lets not be shortsighted mate.
Not exactly a flop
Aside from the bonuses we don’t know about, Ozil will cost the club £147m in transfer fee and wages. Maybe not a complete flop given his assist record in earlier seasons, but definitely, horrifically, bad value for money.
Let Silent Stan worry about value for money. Ozil helped the team significantly to a few FA cups, i won’t forget that. I’m not happy with what’s happening right now but I’m not gonna rewrite history too.
Legend before contract extension. Flop after. To be polemic correct.
FFS, he created one fifth all the chances created since he joined until now. You can hate him for his attitude, but not for his performances in Arsenal shirt.
Cya
Cyan is a lovely color indeed.
Pascal Cygan, lovely player.
Thank you
He talks about loyalty in that message. Loyalty is a two way street. Tweeting about mascots is not loyalty. Skipping meetings, giving 50% in training, binning the non-negotiables and bucking solidarity is not loyalty. Oh, and refusing to play in games north of Watford is loyalty either.
Bro you made half of that up. Bet you think Cesc was loyal and did more for Arsenal.
Arsenal fans can be the biggest hypocrites.
Cesc once played for us on a broken leg.
he also Refused to play for us on pre season while he secured his move to barca, Put in transfer request and insisted that we sold only to barca so had to accept a set fee from Barca, was not part of a winning team and played for Chelsea our enemies with JOse.
Yeah but Ozil is worse for accepting the clubs offer and wanting to play for the club.
Make it make sense.
Are we also getting a nicely-written message from Sokratis seeing as they’re in the same position? No?
Thank you Papa for maturely accepting the situation without whining or feeling entitled to more.
I honestly hope Sokratis gets picked up somewhere and we can work out a deal where we pay him to end his deal so he becomes a free agent. I’ve never seen a negative view about his professionalism and he was even trying to get a new place in the summer.
Chalk and cheese.
I’m sure Arsenal would let either of them go for free in January if they can get the wages off the book.
I imagine there aren’t 25 million souls wondering what Big Papa thinks on it all …
Only because he doesn’t draw the wages Ozil does. The Ozil animosity from fans is all about his wages, and how they think he should just voluntarily give them up so the club can spend elsewhere.
Were Arsenal in the CL and pushing hard for league titles and chock full of talent, the same fans wouldn’t give him another look. It is all because they think Arsenal can take those wages, mix it in a stew, blink 3 times and VOIlA! Insta-Champions.
No it’s all about his output. One always fought and gave if his best. The other played when he fancied it.
Sokratis has been really professional.
I don’t know why but I get the impression that if Sokratis was upset he’d be more a horse’s head on your pillow kind of guy than a whiny message writing kind of guy.
The situations are not comparable and everyone, including you, knows that. If they were similar, we wouldn’t have over 200 comments, and counting, on this post. To start, Ozil (deservedly or not) is one of the most famous footballers in the world. Doesn’t that change things?
Everyone, including you, knows that two situations do not have to be *perfectly* analogous to make a comparison between them.
Do you have a credible source for the claims you’ve made?
He could’ve written even more imo.
I’d add that “loyalty” means not hiding on the pitch during the Europa League Final, Arsenal’s biggest game in the last 5-6 years.
Arseblog’s player rating for Ozil after Baku: 2/10
His analysis: “The big stage, when we needed a performance, the biggest star and the biggest earner was dismal again. His time at Arsenal is up.
Sad to see things end like this
Ozil the social justice warrior, depending if the cause suits his agenda or not.
haha – isn’t that everyone on earth though?
No. özil is a hypocrite. His close personal association with a terrorist supporting (ISIS), minority murdering (Kurds), democracy oppressing (journalists, academics, political opponents, judges, etc.) dictator like (k)erdogan negates all of his credibility. He is only a propaganda mouthpiece for a deplorable authoritarian regime, a neo-ottoman “sultan” terrorizing his own people! He is not forced to be that. He is right about the terrible plight of the Uighurs and his charity work with children is also commendable. But no amount of compensation can wash his conscience clean. He is living in a horrible glass house. “First, remove the beam out… Read more »
I actually mostly agree with AgderColney, but I don’t think it’s relevant to the issue of why Ozil is not playing for Arsenal. It’s possible (possible, not determined) that he is being excluded for his defense of the Uighurs; it is not possible that he is being excluded for his hypocrisy about Erdogan.
You are right. It is beyond the point. The whole Ozil-saga with all its facets is dividing and tiresome. Let’s hope we can soon move on more united.
Here goes….It’s nice to be able to look at others and tell them how to lead their lives when we have previously done what they are now doing. Medieval torture, crusades, sectarianism…. Shall we start with our government, preaching peace, but supporting a massive weapons industry. Or the many invasions over the years. Where do you think new weapons get tested? Let’s not even start with the priests. A lot of people would have their tyrants and dictators back, because at least they had amenities, infrastructure, food, and much less rubble. What I am saying here is one mans insurgent… Read more »
We disagree on that. In the 21st century we should have standards. But, I think we can agree that there is a lot of hypocrisy and these are complex issues. We can’t solve those here. As for sports and social issues it is commendable when someone uses their platform to help others at least by spreading awareness (poverty, health, minorities, etc.). Arsenal used to be associated with such class and modern football hollows that out. The current situation is just sad and dividing. Can’t wait for the Ozil-saga to be over. Would like to get excited by the next breakthrough… Read more »
At least getting this out of the way early on in the season means Arteta won’t get the same question in his press conferences over and over and over (apart from maybe the upcoming weeks!)
Yes he will. After any loss or draw it will be “Do you think if you’d had a creative midfielder like Ozil in the squad you could have broken the opposition down?”
Or after our normal injury crisis ” Do you regret having not named Ozil in your PL squad now?”
We’ve got another whole season of this…
Yep, even more annoying, no one is actually giving any answers. All our opinions at this stage are based on assumptions on what did or did not happen. Dont think the media will back off.
The answer is to treat the media like the parasites they are and simply swish them away every now and then and ignore them the rest if the time,
And it will allow ozil to concentrate solely on Fortnite for the next 8 months. Win win situation
Edu : Ozil has to train harder…
Arteta : The team is evolving …
Per : It’s not about the training, things have changed off the pitch …
It is a shit show from all parties tbf
Biggest shit show is from ozil. He never justified even half the salary he got.
You are definitely right there, but still a shit show from the club to waste resources like this without a decent explanation to the fans. There are no winners here
It’s nice to know that our BFG is still the same stand up guy
This is the quote i saw from Per :
‘A lot has changed away from the field.
He got married, has a family. Perhaps the focus has changed. Nevertheless, he is still happy and happy to play football.”
So while yes, he did say things have changed off the pitch, he is really saying the same as Edu ? Am I missing something, is there something BFG said that suggests something different ?
You’re absolutely right. BFG was actually suggesting that Ozil’s focus has drifted away from top level competitive football.
But Ozil fans think Per is backing up their conspiracy theories. Hilarious.
You are misquoting that. Per said ‘He got married, has a family… perhaps his focus has changed. Nevertheless, he is still happy and happy to play football.’
This is just Per’s opinion. You maybe just read the newspaper headlines who (of course) sensationalize everything.
There is something seriously wrong when we’re paying him a huge sum of money not to play yet letting 50+ peoples jobs go
This ding-ding is clearly between Özil and the hierarchy. Stand a billionaire, and he’s punishing a multi-millionaire who won’t tow the line.
His stats were improving under Arteta, and I’m sure he had instructions to exclude him. Think Guendouzi was collateral damage of the new approach.
In both cases, heavy handed, and indulgent. Tried to force him out, went about it the wrong way. No matter what he does or say, he’s done here. Thanks for the memories. Ya.
*Ding-dong
I’m confused- “Ding Dong” has completely different connotations for me a la Terry Thomas…
Ai carumba.
Helloooooo…..
What a frightful shar…
Or Maggie Thatcher.
Ding-dong, back and forth, like a bell.
End.
“Avon calling” showing my age here…
We would have loved to have it the other way round. His insiting to stay means we have to let 50 people go in order keep the agreement.
He could have saved them if he looked for a new club earlier this season or late last season. But he chose to sit on his arse and ‘EARNED’ his fat 18 million contract and + bonus. But then what do you expect from someone who refused a pay cut to possibly help saved other people jobs….No matter what excuses he gave, a half decent person would not turn down the chance to help other people in need. In this sense I see him as an equal to Stan, cold and calculated.
Can you stop lying to yourself that those employees were let go BECAUSE Mesut didn’t take a pay cut? It’s lazy, especially when the information is available.
As for the rest of what you wrote, if he’s just sitting on his arse, why is he constantly in the training pics we see (including the one used fot this very article)?!
But these two things aren’t really connected? Footballers aren’t employed in the same way as normal employees. By the sounds of it we have actually offered him the chance to walk away but he’s not interested unless he gets all his money (which I don’t massively blame him for to be honest!).
There are players who rejected the pay if they were injured a lot, they loved and respected the club too much (think Zanetti did that). When you don’t give back, you shouldn’t really be ok raking massive money and he hasn’t been giving back for long (when he played as well).
He might take the payoff now though. No longer on the players sheet. He was probably hoping for possible gametime and get the incentive bonuses maybe. Now that that isn’t an option, wonder if he’ll move on? C’mon Ozil, SIGN DA TING!
Completely Separate issues. When you ‘restructure’ a business as Arsenal would phrase it, you don’t let go of your biggest assets. Players are the biggest assets at any club. Also Ozil was a contractual mistake which happened years ago – I am sure Arsenal would love to rectify it but they can’t.
If they really wanted to get rid of him they should have changed his squad number. That would really mess with his social media/image. I’m thinking 4 or 25. So instead of M10 it would be M4 or M25 I prefer the former as it does leave London.
M15 as he’s running rings round us
M25 FFS lol
Why is arsenal the only team to do this pay-cut and 50 redundancies stuff.
And you know for sure that Arsenal are the only team because…?
Do you know that for a fact?
Whatever Arsenal do is news, nobody cares about the rest and so it goes unreported.
Because they have to pay Ozil 18mil + contract that he “EARNED” to sit on his arse doing nothing. So other people who actually do the hard work had to leave.
So they fired 50 people because Ozil didn’t take a pay cut then found 40m+ for Partey just a few months later…?
Really?
Well a Partey would be useful for the squad..unlike someone who continue to pick up the big fat check for doing nothing…and I am talking about his performance the last 3 years, not just recently, since he signed the contract…and dont tell me that some dick should blame for giving him the fat contract….he managed to con them and many of you that he deserved that contract…but has earned it…sorry..a big fat no…These last 3 years, he provided more creative action on social media than on the pitch. So happy to see the back of him come Jan or June.
….but has earned it = …but has he earned it?
They aren’t. Both Everton and Leicester have cut jobs while Pool and United are trying to leave the PL altogether.
Check his squad number on the website
M10 works because it no longer exists.
I believe it’s now the A414 (maybe Auba could wear that idk)
Given that it’s a big part of his ‘brand’ that he’s trying to build, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s in his contract that he has to be the no. 10.
Could it have come down from Josh to stop playing him? We’ll probably never know and I guess at this point it hardly matters. There’s only one more chance to register him in Jan, then it’s sayonara.
The words I didnt want to see: “No matter what, I will keep fighting for my chance and not let my 8th season at Arsenal end like this. I can promise you that this hard decision won’t change anything in my mindset”
Please Ozil, just leave in Jan and get this over with!
I can promise you that this hard decision won’t change anything in my mindset
Yeah, that’s either a threat or a promise.. Regardless, he ‘s chosen money over playing time, and he’s entitled to do so. He’s a professional human being with a career, bills to pay, and dreams for himself and his family. Chances are whatever choice he made, he made it himself, and .. well. End of story.
But this statement *does* – again – sound like complete marketing bullshit made up by some consultant in a meeting.
You’re not wrong – he’s chosen money, and he’s entitled to do so – and by many accounts, he’s doing great charitable stuff with his money, which is far more important than money in the long run. But I do wish he could go and make his money somewhere else where he is wanted!
far more important than football, not money, that should say
You really do have a picture for every statement, don’t you?
Ridiculously petty and childish. Basically guaranteed he’s never getting back into the squad.
Is it possible for you, as a popular Turkish figure, to denounce the Human Rights abuses of the Turkish government Mr Ozil, oh mighty, saintly defender of humanity? Asking for a friend in jail for defending others’ basic freedom of expression.
I think all that can be said about this situation has been said, but we would all like to find out whether this is driven by the Arteta, the executives, the owners or comes as the result of outside pressure.
His poor performances on the pith drive this. If he was still pre-contract Ozil on the pitch he would be playing 100%.
Ahh yes, The Arsenal managed by The Arteta
“No matter what, I will keep fighting for my chance and not let my 8th season at Arsenal end like this”. Is it just me, or does this seem akin to a husband that’s wife announced there marriage is over moving into the spare room and declaring he’ll “keep fighting for another chance” even after she’s moved her new fella in…? Probably just me.. I do see both sides tbh, but pointless playing the blame game. Everyone needs to accept the love affair is over and go their separate ways. This situation has been toxic for both the player and… Read more »
Speaking from experience?
Ha. No… But I do have a friend….
It has festered because he has a contract and he has prioritized the money over actually playing football. Most players would choose to play because they love to compete and see how far they can develop. Ozil did not make that choice, tells you more about the player than the club. The club has been direct, you need to leave, we are not going to play you. He made his choice, he’d rather have the money.
Reading between the lines, the last line of that statement is the one that sticks out for me. I’d rather not go into politics to be honest, but when the Club decided to delve into political movements AFTER distancing from Ozil’s concerns about Uighurs in China…a potential conflict of interest has occured. Just my opinion and obviously speculation, We will never know the real story and i hope one day we do. But from a pure footballing point of view, it’s an absolute shame we haven’t had the best out of him or utilised him in some capacity. To me,… Read more »
He played 10 successive Premier League games under Mikel Arteta after he made those comments. Whatever the reason, it’s not that.
But let’s not let the facts get in the way of tinfoil hat wearing bs.
They may have fallen out over this in a latter stage. Could have asked him to refrain from messages like that in the future or smt.
There are probably other things going on but the club is leaving us with just assumptions.
Could be that the pressure was still growing during that point and then during the lock-down the club had the time to analyse and make a decision as the pressure had reached boiling point.Its possible.
The most plausible reason has got to be the pay cut debacle. Ozil being the highest earner not taking the pay cut, i think was a sore point because only his name was leaked to the media, and i know other people who did the same still played but none is on same level/profile/influence as him. Even though he was in a matchday squad after that he never played and that seems odd too cos we struggled in some of those games. Was it arteta way of coming to terms with that decision made for him? maybe but we will… Read more »
You never know how long it takes for the Chinese government to react and what negotiations happened between the club and China behind the scenes to try to make amends. Just look at what happened to the NBA in China after the GM of the Houston Rockets made comments about Hong Kong. The entire economic situation of the league was altered (including the salary cap). My brother lives in China and has seen how things work there first hand (though he still enjoys his life there and would not plan on moving back). I do think the comments on China… Read more »
I feel for your brother.
My bro makes 150k a year to teach English to the local elite with government ties. He’s not complaining. Much like Arsenal, he’s taking the money.
As a sidenote, the Houston GM was kept on for almost a year after making those comments and then just resigned this week. I have no doubt the comments on China played a significant role as he potentially cost the league at least a billion dollars in revenue.
Unless the Chinese government were in “discussions” with Arsenal about what would placate them and when an apology / retraction wasn’t forthcoming, they levied a threat which Arsenal responded to by dropping Ozil.
The above may be far-fetched but the point is that not everything happens in a perfect timeline.
Hey guys, very interesting stuff about China and the Rockets and Daryl Morey.
Perhaps it was also China’s fault Mesut Ozil dropped a 2/10 performance in Baku when we had a CL place on the line?
What did the other players rate in that game? I don’t remember.
Yes quite a few fans discussing China have conveniently forgotten that Ozil disasterclass in Baku.
https://arseblog.news/2019/05/arsenal-1-4-chelsea-europa-league-final-player-ratings/
At 2/10 he was the LOWEST rated player, along with Kolasinac.