Mikel Arteta says he takes full responsibility for the decision to leave Mesut Ozil out of Arsenal’s Europa League and Premier League squads and denies the German is paying the price for any off-field reasons.
Ozil took to social media this afternoon to express his disappointment after learning his fate yesterday. Greek international Sokratis also missed out as the Gunners cut two players to adhere to non-homegrown player quotas.
Citing a failure on his part to get the best out of Ozil since he took over as coach last December, Arteta tackled the issue head-on when he faced the media on Zoom ahead of Arsenal’s opening Europa League group stage game with Rapid Vienna.
Here’s a transcript of the Ozil bits…
on Mesut Ozil’s statement…
Everybody is free to express their feelings. What can I say from my side? It’s just a football decision that my conscience is very calm about because I was very fair with him. My level of communication with him has been really high, we know what to expect from each other. When I believe that he could contribute to the team to be better, which is why I was hired to this football club – to become the manager, to win football matches, competitions and create and build a project for the short, medium and long-term. He has had the opportunity like everybody else. I’m sad that I had to leave three players off this list, which is never pleasant, but I just have to say that I tried to look everybody in the eye and be comfortable with it. With Mesut, I had this feeling because I have been very straightforward since I arrived at this club.
on whether Ozil could leave before the end of his contract…
No [that’s not the stage we’re at]. Obviously a player of that dimension, with the career he’s had at international level and everything, everything that happens around him has a big impact. It’s been the case for the last eight years. It’s nothing new, it’s nothing that’s just happening now, a lot of things have been happening over these eight years. My job is to get the best out of every player, to contribute to the team and the performance. Here, I feel that at the moment, today, that I’ve failed because I want the best possible Mesut for the team. In some moments I was able to get close to that but in other moments I haven’t been able to because I had to make the decision to leave him out of the squad. This is the reality in football, that anything can happen and I’ve learnt that over the years. This is the reality and we have to face it. The best way to face it is to talk things through face to face and do it in the right way. This is the way I am and this is the way I’ll continue to do it.
on whether Ozil has played his last game for the club…
Honestly, I take full responsibility. I have to be the one getting the best out of the players. It’s my responsibility and again, it’s nothing related to anything, any behaviour or things like I read, like the pay cuts. It’s not true, it’s my decision. If someone has to blame me, and that will happen when we lose football matches, it’s my responsibility. I have to make the decision to get the best possible squad out there to win football matches and competitions as often as we can. In order to do that, I try to be fair with him and with any other players in the squad to defend, as much as possible, the interests of the football club.
on what Ozil wasn’t doing on the pitch to meet Arteta’s expectations…
Listen, I cannot discuss the individual performances of every player. Here, as well with Mesut, I feel pain when I have to leave players out. Believe me. It’s the same when I had to do it with Papa (Sokratis) and the fact that William is not here with us after he joined the club, because of restrictions we have with the competition. As you can understand, I cannot disclose the technical decisions as to whether I play players or not.
on the plan for Ozil over the next few months…
He’s been training with us, he’s involved in our squad routines. We expect him to train and do the best he can. We have to treat him [well] and I have to try to keep him as motivated as possible, which is obviously difficult in these circumstances. We’ll move forward from here.
on whether Ozil’s statement surprised him…
No, it didn’t surprise me.
on whether he offered a similar response in person…
Well obviously the players that were told that they were not to be selected, at the least generated disappointment, because they are professional footballers and they want to have the chance to work with the right motivation to try to achieve the possibility to play, and when that doesn’t happen it’s difficult. But as I said, I’d rather have those difficult conversations face to face, explain the reasons why, and see how things change with time.
on whether something happened during the lockdown period, or more recently…
No, I’m not very focused about what happened during the past, and you will get to know me more, but in the past six years, a lot of the things that happened, I didn’t make them. You remember the atmosphere around him when I joined was pretty difficult. I asked our fans to support him and to create a much better atmosphere and you remember and recall you could see the difference at Emirates Stadium in two or three weeks. And that was a way in my opinion to support a player and look for the interests of the football club as much as possible. But then I have to see on a daily basis, the input, the performance and what every player brings to the team, and from there I make the decision because I am the manager and have to pick the right players to win football matches.
on whether he gets angry about presumptions of outside influence on him…
No, I am not angry because probably they need as well to clarify the situation and I understand, and I am here to respond to your question. But I don’t want to hide behind anyone at the club or the ownership. At the end of the day, we are talking about a player playing on that field or not. I think we will respond to every obligation we have at a football club, and then it is my responsibility to get the best out of the players and get the performances we need to play football matches. But believe me that is nothing to do with the board, owners or anything like it.
I hope this is the last time we are discussing Ozil case. We all know he will not play anymore so better move on and support current players and club. Dragging this topic will not help anyone.
Absolutely. We are Arsenal fans and not Ozil FC. I have supported the club for 60 years. Players come players go but you still support Arsenal the Club.
The fact people have downvoted this comment suggest that some people are Ozil FC fans. Someone should remind them (and the organisers of Ballon Dor) that football is a team sport. It’s a really bizarre concept to me supporting one player over a team. There’s plenty of players I’ve liked down the years but I’ve never been even close to putting one of them above the club I support. Frankly, it’s weird.
honestly mate I don’t think your argument holds. Could be peeps are disappointed at the treatment rather than supporting a single player vs club paradigm you bringing up
OZIL is just a very good player With the shittiest work rate and personal attitude I’ve every seen a player have. He’s also an entitled covert narcissist thats why he’s been able to fool a lot of us. But now we see what he truly is and its not great. HE claims loyalty yet before he signed his contract extension he was seriously looking to move but when there were no takers Wengers offer proved too good to turn down. NOT because of loyalty to arsenal but to protect his bottom line now he’s claiming loyalty???? Even before he moved… Read more »
How much of this is similar to Arshavin’s final year at the club. Similar profile huge star, great attacking wise but not much of a help defending. I loved Arshavin but even he knew he could not improve on his defensive capability and acknowledged that when Arsene would cite Rosicky as the example for him to be. Remember him for what an honest player he was no drama just went about playing , even remember how angry he was with himself when he almost gave away a goal at the dying stage of our win over barca at the emirates.… Read more »
Dont remember Rosicky defending in 8-2 old Trafford , he was an experienced head that day and first one down the tunnel didn’t come over to clap the fans or apologize. Went down in my estimation that day
Arshavin was twice the player Ozil ever was. At least at Arsenal. And he didnt bring along a swag of psycho fanboys with him either.
How many trophies did we win with Arshavin in the side?
Try a big fat lonely Zero.
Ozil is roughly 10x more famous than Arshavin and has done a hell of a lot more than him for the club
It’s more that the people running the cob are happy to use the marble halls as marketing fodder rather than upholding the values the club has taught us to hold dear.
My word, you two are so simple.
I think you’ll find the downvotes may have been for the suggestion that anyone defending Ozil is clearly putting him above the club. Is your mind so closed that you can’t imagine someone loving the club above all else, but not liking a decision the club has made regarding a certain player?
False dichotomy though. It’s not Arsenal Vs Ozil, it’s very poor decision making by the manager to not include our most creative player.
He’s also the most popular globally which makes no sense on a business level.
On weirdness, it’s no weirder to support a human being than an organisation.
Yes, we are Arsenal fans and will support the team, but we are not expected to support every decision made by the manager or owners. I do think Mikel is not honest with us in Ozil issue. There are absolutely non-football reasons.
What I heard yesterday was a rehearsed PR exercise from Arteta. He and senior management knew the questions will come and prepared a corporate line of answering, ie, Ozil exclusion is for football reasons. We obviously don’t know what goes on in training, but I found it incomprehensible that a top creative professional player suddenly is not good enough to make the squad, especially when the squad is crying out for creativity. Imagine midfield with Partey, Ceballos, Ozil.
If we continue to win football matches and play well then things will go smoothly enough.
But if, perchance, we start struggling, particularly in the creative side of our game, this decision could get rather ugly for Arteta.
I remember blogs saying on the Arsecast before Mikel joined that he was known to ruffle feathers. I believe I know what he’s talking about now…
You do realise you’ve just uttered the unutterable.
Well said, mate.
Arteta’s two biggest decisions have arguably been Leno and Martinez.
They could theoretically both blow up in his face depending on others performances.
Good to have you back Qwaliteee. Where you been man?
Arteta will get quite a bit of slack IMO as he so clearly has improved the team – look at how much better we are defensively & how much better individual players look under him & he very clearly has a plan. When was the last time you can genuinely say there was a plan in place for squad building? It’s really hard to see fans rallying around Ozil like they did under Emery. It would be one thing if he were a world class player but it’s such a clear cut case of his level dropping and him no… Read more »
You were doing great here until you had to turn it into a dismissal of Ozil’s abilities as a footballer and that strange idea that modern football has done away with the playmaker. I understand Arteta decision not to include Ozil in the team going forward, but I don’t understand the perspective of many here who pretend that Ozil is not an incredible playmaker. It’s weird.
His level has dropped a lot – the expected goals from his chances have just collapsed (the counter is he is coming back deeper for the ball). This has been discussed ad naseum. No top European team plays a non goal scoring number 10 anymore and he clearly doesn’t create enough high quality chances to justify us effectively giving up the press when he plays. Klopp when asked why he didn’t play a number 10 anymore said something to the effect of the team loses more by the inability to press than it gains via a number 10’s contribution. Ozil… Read more »
Again, weird argument. We’re not a top European team at the moment, and we don’t play anywhere near Liverpool’s level. If we were pressing the opposition like Liverpool do for 90 minutes and winning games like Liverpool do and securing big big trophies like Liverpool have done, then I’ll take Klopp’s words as accurate that we couldn’t benefit from a creative playmaker roaming between the lines and linking up play/playing the final pass. — but we aren’t. We’re a different club with different problems, and different players, and one of those problems is a dismally low “chances created” figure —… Read more »
Not sure what’s so weird about it. We clearly press which Ozil either isn’t capable of doing or refuses to do and the press doesn’t really work unless everyone in the front does it. Ozil can’t play in a midfield 2 as he doesn’t have the defensive abilities to do nor the stamina in reality (would be constant back and forth). In a midfield 3 it would require us effectively playing 1-2 pure defensive midfielders just to cover him. No one plays like that anymore.
I do agree we need more creativity but that likely will come via us playing a back 4 and with a much more modern athletic midfield of Ceballos/Partey and possibly Xhaka/Saka. I suspect we move on from Xhaka next year but there’s only so much you can change in one year.
We don’t have much choice now with the transfer window closed and the door closed on Ozil — we need to fashion one of our players into a role that can create chances, ideally from a central position (to vary our attack away from the left wing). That could be Willian, that could be ESR, that could be Lacazette less to create directly than at least create links and laneways to the opposition box. Saka is the one everyone wants to drift in more centrally, not unlike what many used to say about Iwobi, but Saka is so good on… Read more »
Because your premise is wrong. He was pressing under Arteta. Overall he had more pressures p90 than KDB and that includes Emery time. If just isolated Arteta time it would be even higher. Willian is less hard working than Ozil but deemed good enough to play.
Thank you
Huh? Didn’t Ozil often finish matches having run the most distance and the most sprints of the team? The problem is, we’ve never pressed consistently with the kind of gusto that LFC do.
We’ve played a lot of football with Ozil in the lineup without two defensive midfielders, so I don’t know how accurate that claim is as a hypothetical going forward.
Lots of teams continue to play 4-2-3-1, lots of teams continue to play with attacking midfielders and playmakers.
I don’t know if any top team that plays a non goal scoring number 10 with no defensive responsibilities which is what you really need to play to get the best out of Ozil. I knew the running stats but it goes back a bit to when a journalist posed a similar question to Wenger’s about Sanchez and his stats when it was clear Sanchez was downing tools. Ozil definitely runs around a lot but I can’t remember him ever effectively pressing or making a tackle.
Clearly we disagree (decent conversation regardless) but I just don’t see Ozil as worthy of building a team around him anymore & he doesn’t really excel in any other situation. If he were putting up 20 assists a year it would be one thing, but the chances he’s creating are such low quality (expected assists) that it doesn’t offset the loss of defensive work we lose when he plays. The modern number 10 scores a lot more & usually has significant defensive responsibility as well – DeBruyne puts up peak Ozil assists but with a lot more goals & defense.… Read more »
Indeed! I don’t expect Arteta to build the team around Ozil any longer, either, but I do think we could have gotten some serious value out of him this season. We’ve been bad for years now and while Ozil has been a reason for that he’s also suffered because of it — as a playmaker and facilitator of attacking football, he needs competency around him, and that’s not always been present. We just bought Partey, a box-to-box player who can cover some serious ground; the perfect player to occupy a deep midfield spot and grant us a high-playing attacking midfielder.… Read more »
Genuine question Abour from Lyon is he tha t much better a presser and defender than ozil. Thst he wait a year for a pressing number 10. ( Don’t say he isnt a number ten )
we wait a year Aside from a YouTube video which showed no defending and one match , which he did nothing special in that defence department. But I haven’t seen much Lyon , tji watch a bit if French football on b.t. sport’s.
Either way
Question is , does KDB play with 2DMs? Does Man City press as a team Always . Arsenal does the contrary and is judged on the same standard at Mancity.
Fact is Arteta is justifying a bad situation and making excuse for a decision made by thugs above him who gave the contract in the first place. Classless.
We didn’t press under Wenger, and did a horrible job under Emery. We’re much better under Arteta in this sense (with much improvement still to be made), and I’m sure he’d get more out of Ozil in this regard if he had him in the team.
If you press well and in numbers, everyone’s defensive responsibility diminishes because you’ve got the ball back. Ozil is more than capable of playing that style.
We don’t press ad in all matches he played, no arsenal player covered more Km than him. Lazy?
We beat him up for not defending and kill him for not creating. What did we hire him for? Auba is praised for goals scored(his work) excused for his failed defensive work and given a free pass for lost possession over and over again. This will not last long based on his pay package now.
We were not a top European team even when we have Ozil playing as a playmaker and Auba and Laca upfront instead of Giroud. We finished 6, 5, 5, 8 remember. See, last year Ozil still played 18 matches, all of them before project restart. So, having Ozil around would not enhance squad rebuilding whatsoever, not if we intent to at least get back into top 4. He is the past, still making a living off that one great season at AFC in 2015-2016. Other seasons, particularly since he got his big contract, he has been pretty bang average at… Read more »
You’re acting like there’s someone else in the squad even close to him for chance creation though? There isn’t. His pressing numbers are far better than Willian’s and in fact he had more pressures p90 than KDB last season.
Firminho is barely a goalscorer.
Mesut increases the fluidity of our play so much.
we were just as solid with Ozil in the team.
To not have hm in the squad as an option to change the system or bring on is foolish in my opinion.
And his level hasn’t dropper half as much as people think he’s just had to perform a different role from deep.
I’ll be glad when Ozil leaves. Arteta is the manager now not just the coach and, guess what, he’s managing – earning his salary (there’s a lesson for someone there).
I kind of like that he’s out empathied Ozil with this.
Ozil is clearly looking for sympathy but by Arteta saying basically that it’s his fault and he’s failed it stops it becoming the bleeding heart Mesut show.
Well played sir.
Even if it happens that we are struggling and loosing games, Ozil would still not be the saviour or the answer, he has proven that much in the last 3 or 4 years that having him in the team doesn’t take us nowhere either. So we need to just move on with the rebuilding job without him. Whether Arteta will still be here come next June, is another question all together, he needs to prove that he can win games, ideally the Arsenal way (Wenger way), but bottom line he still need to win a lot of games, irrespective of… Read more »
Well you say that. But that’s what fans have been doing ever since Emery dropped him…
Don’t click on links with Ozil in the title
Quite frankly, I like Arteta and dislike Ozil but Arteta should stop lying about the reason behind it.
So when he comes out in the open and speaks his mind, he’s lying? Just sounds like the truth is a bitter pill to swallow for some
Good riddance. He was decent once but doesn’t fit into a hard working team. If he really wanted to play he would have left for game time. That he didn’t says everything about why he has been dropped. We need this saga to end now, it’s been toxic for too long.
If Ozil was British (or Irish for that matter), this would be spun as him wanting to stay and fight for his place. As he’s a foreigner, it’s spun as “If he really wanted to play he would have left for game time”. Imagine if there was no media – people like you would probably have no opinions.
That’s completely unrealistic. He’s arguably bigger than the football club itslef in the eyes of the world.It’s dominated instagram, facebook and twitter all week, trended round the world and covered in just about every country in the world. Arteta should have factored that into his decision making when wondering if he really needed that extra CB if he’s a pragmatist. Ozil is an icon for millions. Every uncreative performance, questions will turn to Mesut. It could easily get the like the Emery situation where fans demand him come back. I think Arteta’s been very shortsighted here. 11 players who can… Read more »
We had Ozil, Mesut Ozil
I just don’t think he understood,
The non negotiables,
Arteta’s set of rules,
Goodbye Mesut Ozil!
Did you? No one outside the dressing room does and has come out to say Ozil didn’t. Even Arteta has not said he failed on that. Someone is lying and Ozil I’d not the one.
Do we know his last day yet? I’ve been saving a nice bottle.
June 2021… tick tock.
252 days : 00 hours : 06 minutes: 30 sec at this point.
I agree, Borges, Elneny, Soares, Mari (can’t wait to see him fit) are of better value ! Basta. Strange Mertesacker said Özil is not out for football reason, but who cares: he doesn’t have Lego hair.
Please actually read what mertesacker said, not just the headline. If you think it makes the club look bad & absolves Ozil of blame, you could not be more wrong.
You really have to admire Arteta and his ability to deal with very difficult situations. At the end of the day it’s Arteta’s neck on the line if he doesn’t win and it’s his responsibility to put forward the team most capable of that objective. The past few months should be a clear sign to the players that prior reputation doesn’t count for anything – you have to earn your spot & if you’re good enough you’ll play regardless of age (Saka).
And conversely that you won’t get in purely on the basis of the player you were, on a few occasions, years ago.
I deeply admire Arteta for his candidness here, and for his ownership of the decision and his fault as a manger in not getting the best out of the player. Tremendous forthrightness both with himself, the player (it sounds like), the club, and us. Win or lose, my manager.
For all the Mesut Ozil haters.. aT least you’re can’t blame him anymore for when the team loses… He’s gonna leave for sure. Mikel Arteta is no Pep. And he’s feeling himself a little too much. There are a lot of players playing like shit on the field every time. And all you hater are gonna sit here and say he couldn’t contribute to the team at least make the bench. Ridiculous!!!! He’s already lost two games this season. Wait and see. …No creativity in the midfield..
We lost two most difficult away matches which we have not won in last 6 years, with or without Ozil. Time will tell but you guys are acting as if Arteta is worst than Emry.
You only see a good player on the field and I bet they haven’t been many for the arsenal. Ozil hasn’t played much. Has William been good? If playing reveals training! Arteta is lying big time.
Feel for the guy. Anyway, finally glad that Arteta came out and cleared the air; no more speculations. Time to move on
Clear what air??? This was personal… Arteta can say whatever he wants. But Mesut said his peace. Can’t blame the guy anymore for when the team loses. They’ve already lost two games this season and Arteta had an excuse for the loses!!! We play Leicester city and Man U next… We shall see.
Haha this is just the beginning. He’s bigger than the club. Like it or hate it, it’s a fact. This is going to hang over the club all season.
Baffling decision on every level imaginable.
“He’s bigger than the club”? Really?
Will you be leaving with him as well?
No I won’t, I just know how to count. He has a far bigger social media following than the club do. People just getting angry at point out the facts that in 2020 he is bigger than the club.
Obviously it won’t seem that way when you are talking to your Arsenal fan friends but on a global level he is.
I love Arteta, no shirking from him. Give 100% everyday or do one, good on ya MA8!
Just because Ozil doesn’t run around like a headless chicken, doesn’t mean he doesn’t give 100%.
We have all watched the games mate, Artetas the boss and lazy Ozil has no place
We have all watched the games, but only some of us have been observant. You clearly believe what the commentators and pundits tell you, because you’re too lazy to think.
Tired of this whole Ozil talk please can someone rest now?
Something tells me what is happening to Ozil has nothing to do with football.i take it that whoever knows Mesut will attest to this.a player who signed a new contract worth 350/week with AW knowing who he signs MA cant convince most of us its a Footballing reason.whatever form MO is he wouldn’t miss out on a list of 25 players.at Arsenal we dont have that depth.lets call a spade a spade not a big spoon.MO stepped on his boss’s toes.he rubbed them the wrong to the point of paying that amount of money without working for it.someday justice will… Read more »
I’ve seen some fantastic footballers and been very lucky to watch them live. Beginning with chippy, Ozil is a supremely talented footballer and it was a joy watching him play. He was never gonna make an average team great but would have made a great team exceptional. Thanks for the memories and wish him the very best. The Arsenal will march on. In fairness I wish the club had not come out and distanced themselves from his China comment about the persecution and murder of Muslims. That was sad. They came out and supported BLM. I think both were and… Read more »
Fair enough I guess. He’s the boss.
Still seems harsh I don’t like it tbh
You’ll be a fool take Arteta for his word, he’s no Jesus. Wenger lied to us for years covering for owners and I don’t think Arteta will be any different. At the same time, I don’t see Ozil as the star player of the team or someone who should play every game. My problem is with the club treating long serving players disgracefully. Kos, Ramsey and now Ozil, not the best precedent to set if you expect loyalty from the players. Don’t get burned when they find a bigger club and move on. Saliba is another developing situation which might… Read more »
Why do you need a conspiracy theory when its been obvious to rational observers that Ozil’s been a liability on the pitch for years. It’s not a question of ability, its a question of showing the bare minimum level of effort which was a bar he couldn’t be asked to get over.
You only have to look at the current and former players who’ve liked Ozil’s post. Fans are consumers, they want players to serve them as long as they make them happy. As soon as their entertainment value goes down, they are kicked aside like a used condom. this one is on Arteta, he’s made his choice. He’s gonna have to prove himself right. So far, if you take Auba’s contribution out, Arteta doesn’t have much to show. Ole the joke, started behing him and finished ahead of him in 3rd. Many players have been a liability the past few season,… Read more »
Your ole comment does not make sense since he was in the United Job way before Arteta joined Arsenal
A used condom? We probably paid that guy over £100M during his time. Must be tough for him.
Amazing how you refer to the idea of Mesut Ozil, who helped end our long trophy drought in his first season at the club and go on to be one of our best players in subsequent years, being a liability as “rational”.
Did you make that comment in haste, or are you just a complete moron?
Sad to see people happy to see our Arsenal becoming a Chinese puppet and forcing out one of our best players in recent years for voicing against injustice and some fans celebrating the same. Where is ‘Victoria Concordia Crescit’? Is there a reason to celebrate the board who has profit as priority over success?
This has nothing to do with China. Read what Arteta has just said. Look at the fact Ozil played for us consistently after making those comments about China’s despicable treatment of the Uighur muslims.
This is a conspiracy theory with no basis in fact.
Ohh really? next youll be telling us that the earth isnt flat.
Open your eyes man!
Disappointing how many times you’ve had to repeat this in comments over the last few days/weeks.
Yeah, it is a bit.
My name’s Sam Dunning and I’m a journalist focussing on issues relating to China. There is indeed no evidence that Ozil is not being played because of his comments. However, the player’s recent comments about loyalty and fighting injustice suggest he might think that this is why he is not being played. In my opinion, contrary to Arseblog’s comment, the fact that Ozil played in the weeks after he made the original comments but is now not playing should not be considered evidence that his not being played now is a result of those previous comments. I hope I’ve expressed… Read more »
Thanks for the input, but I still think the idea that China are influencing team selection at Arsenal is far-fetched.
Who says Arteta’s word is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? this is delusion of grandeur.
We know so well Manager’s cover for their bosses all the time.
So you don’t think it has anything to do with the elitist cabal of high ranking radical left paedophiles that Donald Trump is trying to save us from?
Yeah mate! Of course it has, Ozil alluded to it. But I guess you going to take Arteta word because everything he says it true. Once Covid hit the financial implication on the club were greater before Ozil statement. Therefore I believe that was the end of Ozil.
That is a fundamentally flawed argument. It rests on the premise that Chinese pressure would have been instantaneous after Ozil made his comments, like Xi Jinping had some sort of Batphone style hotline to Stan. It is quite possible that the club may have found themselves gradually squeezed in any Chinese commercial dealings. Global trade with those deemed recalcitrant nations is a great example. The Chinese will ban a certain product, then another and then another all for different reasons, slowly tightening the noose. I don’t know if Ozil’s comments have any impact on his situation. In absence of the… Read more »
It would also be too obvious. Everyone would call them out on it if they did it immediately
Arseblog…
Edu on Mesut ‘ Needs to train harder ‘
Arteta on Mesut ‘ The team is evolving ‘
Mertesacker ‘ Personal reasons ‘
No conspiracy theory on these announcements… Let’s be real here…
Arteta is taking one for the ‘ Board & CEO ‘
Read what BFG actually said. Please. He is making it clear (but nicely) that he agrees with Edu.
While I don’t necessarily think it’s China you can’t just dismiss it. Just because Arteta says it, it doesn’t mean it’s true. His post match analysis often bears no resemblance to reality for example.
The club may well have done a cost based analysis on whether to use him or not and decided no based on China, bonuses and paycut. You can’t just rule it out, it’s possible.
Maybe Arteta was given a budget and told he could use it on Mesut’s wages or eg Partey/Gabriel/January signings
Weren’t you a journalist? Do you usually take things at face value or is it just that you have an bit of an anti-Ozil bias in this case (that’s a rhetorical question bec, listening to what you do and what you don’t say in your podcasts, it’s evident that you do…)?
No need for tears. Saint Mesut will now have plenty of time to raise his concerns with BFF and fellow humanitarian Erdogan.
I did some reading about ozil, a player I like. I typically stick to football and ignore personalities, though I made an exception here. It seems he made Erdogan his best man. I don’t question his right to do so, but is a world leader who is much older than him really his best mate? I question his judgement, or at least his PR team’s judgement. This makes me question his decisions w.r.t the club. I do think that perhaps this young man is being led astray, tainting his entire career. It’s a shame, I wish him the best somewhere… Read more »
I recall reading somewhere that being a best man in a Turkish wedding is not as significant as in a western wedding. Who knows, maybe Erdogan has approached him. I find it hard to believe they are best buddies. One thing is for certain, you don’t want to speak out against him.Enes Kanter did and that didn’t work out so well.
Arsenal’s response to Ozil’s comments was deplorable. However, his non-selection has nothing to do with it, and almost certainly everything to do with:
a) Cost reduction by not paying his very large appearance fees
b) The fact that he isn’t very good at football anymore
Please provide citations that he “isn’t very good at football anymore”…
Sure. Watch any game he’s played in from the last two years.
Was suspicious of the guy ever since he threw Germany under the bus, but was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But the guy’s shown himself to be such a hypocrite of the highest order, I think he could give Trump a run for his money. So apologies to RVP, Ashley Cole, and John Terry. I didn’t think I’d see a bigger cunt in football. Now I have.
You sir have won the day. I take my hat off to you
Mate I think a lot of he said about the Germany situation was fair, tbh. Him supporting Erdogan is disgusting though. The man is a would-be dictator and proto fascist.
This is such a stupid comment on so many levels. Do you even know what “fascist” means? What do you mean by “would-be dictator”?
Just because Ozil took a photo with the leader of his country of birth, doesn’t mean he supports him. Would you have had a problem with any of our legendary former players if you found out they supported Thatcher? Or is it only wrong to support politicians who our mainstream media don’t like?
Erdogan’s Turkey has locked up more journalists then any other country in the world mate. The only problem ive got with the statement would be dictaor is that it implies he isnt already.
In that case, you need to get yourself an education as you don’t know the definition of the word “dictator” – go look it up in a dictionary. How many democratically elected dictators do you know?
I’m no fan of Erdogan’s; I would never vote him, but he clearly is neither a dictator nor a fascist. Stop using such big words so lightly.
History is full of such examples. Hate to be the guy that brings up Hitler in an internet forum… but he was invited to become Chancellor of Germany following the success of the National Socialist party at the 1933 election
An initial electoral mandate doesnt protect you from the label if you go on to to destroy the institutions and principles that constitute what a democracy is
Anyway damn it, we’re meant to be discussing football
I don’t remember Erdogan abolishing democracy after being elected.
Do you remember the failed coup attempt against him a couple of years ago? It failed because the people resisted it. So not only did the Turks vote for him at the ballot box, they later voted for him with their bodies too. As much as you hate the man, and I don’t blame you for that, you can’t call him a dictator or a fascist. It’s highly offensive to real victims of actual dictatorships and genuine fascism.
“[Erdogan] is the current president of Turkey and I would show respect to that person, whoever it was,” Ozil told The Athletic . “Although I was born and raised in Germany, Turkey is part of my heritage.
“If the German president or [Chancellor] Angela Merkel are in London and ask to see me, to speak to me, of course I would do that as well.
the two things are massively linked. Ozil had already become Erdogan’s useful idiot in his diplomatic spat with Germany at the time of that particular reckoning. Ergogan was stirring up the Turkish diaspora against the german authorities and Mesut allowed himself to very much be a part of that.Perhaps they bond over their mutual ability to play victim and create crisis by considering themselves exception to any rules that others play by There may well have been unsavoury elements withing the German football hierarchy or press, but the fact that much the same has now happened at club as well… Read more »
How can you call Ozil a “useful idiot” when you swallow any horseshit the media feeds you? The only reason you hate Ozil so much is that the pundits tell you to. So you’re the useful idiot; not Ozil.
Also, I really hope you never do jury duty. Your “no smoke without fire” attitude could land an innocent person in a lot of trouble one day.
Play the ball, not the man pal. I’ve made no comment of your character,,, unless you happen to be either Mesut Ozil or Recip Tayrip Erdogan??
If it’s alright for you to disrespect Ozil or any other player/manager, then why is it not alright for me to disrespect you? Because you’re not a wealthy celebrity? Your comments reveal a fair bit about your character and intellect, so why shouldn’t I comment on them? If you have an issue with that, then you should only ever make statements that are true and intelligent, or not make any at all.
You got it the wrong way round mate. German FA threw him under the bus to cover for the whole teams’ and their own short comings. Trying to twist this incident just shows your hate for Ozil.
It wasn’t just the FA, mate. He threw the team, the management and even the sponsors under the bus.
Like I said, I gave him a pass at the time. But let’s be honest here, and look at every thing we’ve learned about the way Ozil manipulates the media in hindsight. He played the race card. Pure and simple. He wanted to deflect criticism from his performance,, his attitude,, and his relationship with Erdogan.
Arseblog admin….
Great work, for allowing & publishing AD-O comment, didnt realise you can swear at this platform… Bravo !
If you hate Ozil more than you hate Cashley, then there’s no way you’re a real Arsenal supporter.
Lol. German FA admitted their mistakes in handling Ozil situation recently. That they haven’t even had a meeting with Ozil. But let’s just hate our player for no real reason.
Hyperbole much…?
Sorry but this stinks … It’s his China criticism that has cost the Trump supporting Kroenkes and Ozils refusal to take a pay cut. Just admit it … 350,000 a week that they hate …. I love what MA is doing with the team but he’s telling porkies. Or has been told to by USA paymasters … look at the NBA v China. Batshit crazy
Dear God please see Bloggers statement above. I remember a time when it was considered rude to enter an edifice of any kind whilst wearing a hat. Can the wearers of the tinfoil variety please follow this simple rule.
Does Per M have to wear one too?
Per doesn’t do tinfoil hats. Here’s what he actually said:
“‘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.”
And working hard in training.
Why do they always leave that part out?
Jeez! Who says Blogs assertions are the truth and any contrarian opinion be scoffed at? Blogs can’t be more wrong. Fact that he played a number of games connotes one whose efforts are not under scrutiny
The more salient fact is the post-Ozil Arsenal were able to beat Chelsea and Man City to lift the FA Cup.
Arteta’s choice to move on from Ozil was validated at Wembley.
Arsenal also beat United with him in the team and quite convincingly as well.
Yes, at the Emirates.
Mesut does look good at home. Away from home, not so much
to be fair… Wembley is our home too. Especially now those god-awful squatters from across the seven sisters road have been evicted
Selective amnesia in full force, huh? Pre ‘post-Ozil Arsenal’, Ozil-Arsenal delivered 2 FA cups. That’s more salient
Yeah, that’s kind of weird, kaius. So does that mean every game we lose going forward and struggle to produce scoring chances invalidates his decision to axe Ozil?
In 2002, we went to Old Trafford without Thierry Henry, and won the league there. Clear evidence that Thierry Henry wasn’t worthy of a place in that team. In 2003, we went to the San Siro without Vieira and Bergkamp, and battered Inter Milan 5-1. Those two should never have played for the club again.
There are 450 Walmart stores in China that generate $10b revenue per annum … builds NFL stadium. Fk tinfoil tho.
That statement rests on flawed logic…not that I am rushing to believe the China criticism is why Ozil is not playing. Talk about tin foil hats if you want but there’s not much to be said for passing off others opinions as facts
I’m sorry, is Blogs the arbiter of truth in this matter?! Is it not possible that he might be wrong too? Biased too? Misled too?
It’s really a sad day. Mesut Ozil has been a world class player and made a significant contribution for Arsenal. I want to remember him for the moments when he showed his class, not this painful end. Fault on both sides but respect to a great player
That’s how you stay classy, nice to have fellow gooners like you around. Haters gonna hate, no matter whay they are involved in.
People on here act like he’s done nothing. He’s got the 2nd best G/A ratio of any non striker in Arsenal history, only a decimal point behind Cesc and playing in worse teams. When Emery took over hes by far number 1, ahead of the likes of Pires and Ljungberg and better than almsot every player in his position in world football
Downvoted for simply stating stats. That shows how big the bias is on here
Ozil has been made an example of end of story. His media responses didn’t help the situation but its largely a case of keeping future stars in line.
That sounds reasonable
The only way for Ozil to come back into the team is to do a ‘Beckham’. And I hope he can. However, knowing Ozil, he’s 1 who rely more on his natural talent than working hard. At least Beckham knew his talent, his weakness(speed) and overcame that with his workrate and stamina. So I don’t think we will see him playing for us again.
Arteta has finally taken full responsibility, unless I missed something earlier, but has made a complete U-turn during lockdown and won’t discuss specifics so we’re not much the wiser.
So many lies. Disgraceful
tin foil hat alert!
Wow. Arteta comes out and clears the air completely on this (rather boring) topic and Yet the conspiracy theories simply get louder. I really don’t know what drives conspiracy theorists. Is it boredom, loneliness, attention? They can’t honestly believe the drivel they write or? I’m curious. My theory (shared with Jeremy Clarkson) is that people have started mating with vegetables.
you must be a weirdo or a sadist!
One thing that drives some conspiracy theorists is a story that doesn’t add up. For example, the idea that Ozil has been left out of our squad for footballing reasons, when he’s miles better than so many players who have been selected. He should be one of the first names on the teamsheet, so the explanation that this decision was made for “footballing reasons” sounds like bullshit. It’s not so disimilar to how the story that Lee Harvey Oswald killed John F. Kennedy, and was himself murdered in revenge by a strip club owner who had no love for Kennedy,… Read more »
Why should his name be one of the first in team sheet? Pls explain?
Because he’s one of the best players on our books at the moment, if not the best (him or Aubameyang).
Because he was the best player in Araenal prior to lockdown and Arteta talked about how good he was, in press conferences. He was improving at his weaknesses too.
Arteta has to defend the board and that is what he is doing now. Believe me, people close to Arsenal board/players will come up with some confessions years later and Ozil will have his redemption.
Arteta is 100% right. There’s a lot of nonsense from a small minority of fans trying to find other reasons for the situation that Ozil is in. The truth is he is talented, and the then management must take some blame for the stupid contract they gave him, but the bottom line is that Ozil just isn’t committed to the club and hasn’t been for some time now. He hasn’t acted in a professional manner in my opinion. I strongly suspect that the vast majority of Gooners will be celebrating next June when this farce finally ends.
“Ozil just isn’t committed to the club”
His actions would suggest otherwise, the club is trying to kick him out but he’s trying to honour the contract.
“He hasn’t acted in a professional manner in my opinion”
What did you base that on? Must be something I have missed.
What do you think he/she based that on? The pundits and “experts” (great minds like Carragher, Redknapp, and co.) said so – so it must be true.
Most fans problem with Ozil has been Ozil’s wages. That any performance mishaps in any shape or form will be scrutinized with a big-wage lens.
That blame should never be to the player at all but management. And to fans, if nature didn’t bless you with enough footballing talent, cut him some slack and find your bearing.
Let Ozil earn till the contract says ‘it is over’
They’ll come for Auba within 6 months, just wait and see
On this blog yes. In real life an overwhelming no.
You’ve taken a survey of all Arsenal fans, have you?
You really need to learn to distinguish between facts and your mere opinions – especially when they’re highly flawed and lack logic, and when you’re not a particularly bright person, yourself.
No I just look at Instagram, facebook and Twitter as well as various polls and blogs, taking everything into account I then form my opinion. I haven’t personally done a survey but for example I have seeen one of 38k fans with 74% believing Arsenal have mistreated him. Another with 61% wanting him in the team. Pretty much every comment on instagram and facebook for the past week has been demanding he plays or the fact that he got 2.5m likes and counting for hsi recent statement., All very different to Arseblog comments section. Resorting to insults usually means the… Read more »
I think you’ll find my comment was not aimed at you – have a look at who I was responding to. As it happens, I disagree with your point too, but I don’t consider it idiotic. The person I was actually responding to, on the other hand ….
First things first I love Ozil and really wanted him to have his last dance. But unfortunately it’s ended this way. Based on what Arteta is saying it’s that there has been a lack of application and commitment. Sadly, based on his final year with Arsene, his tumultuous time with Emery and his brief stint under Arteta the writing has been on the wall. I don’t believe much in the conspiracies. Ozil felt like the teacher’s pet who got the perks with Wenger, but when others didn’t give him what he wanted he sulked and played PR wars as opposed… Read more »
Hes having his ‘last dance’ in the press. a very long ,drawn out ,slow, boring dance.
Great comment, thank you.
So long Ozil is on the books this situation will not die down. A player of his stature will not just fade away, Papa was also left out yet everybody is talking about Ozil Every time we lose he will come up in people’s minds, (we lost because we didn’t create enough), everytime we win he might come up(would have probably created more with him in the side). The point is you can never make everyone happy, I just hope this decision has more benefits than consequences because we need to get top four and we need all the help… Read more »
Sadly worry that you’re right and he’ll generate as much chat as ever. Ah well.
Can’t see any benefits except financially to the club and even that’s debatable given his popularity.
There are 11 players who can lay CB, 11 who can play FB and 7 who can play DM but no room for our top chance creator p90 from last season. Makes no sense
Tbh…who cares? Nobody apart from staff and other players see him in training… His approach, daily attitude, does he put in extra hours, commitment etc. There are some youngsters who are clearly pushing to get into the first team and thats the spirit you want…For all we know, he drags his feet like he has done in several games when it doesn’t go his way. We dont know.
Thank you for making this point. As fans we have our favorites and judge by what we see in matches.
But most coaching decisions are made on the training pitch – and we have no insight into that.
Almost all thee quotes from his colleagues are huge praise both of his game and his attitude.
Would have liked to see what Arteta would have done if one slot was open and he was given a choice of adding either Mesut or Matteo to his squad.
Lol yeah!
You don’t have to fill all slots, do you? 😉
There you have it.
He no longer makes the team based on performance, on the pitch.
Ask the same question a million times it’s the same answer.
The sooner Circus Ozil is gone the better – no player is bigger than the club.
Backing Arteta all the way.
Am I the only one who fears that Arteta “doth protest too much” and expresses an obviously insincere mea culpa in his explanation of Ozil’s exclusion? I suspect that someone the in the Kroenke organization calculated
the potential revenue loss from exclusion from China and the order came down
that Ozil must be sacrificed. If this is what occurred, it is heartbreaking that
Arteta would allow himself to become a spokesman for such a corrupt
ownership.
Bravo I agree … anyway let’s unite and win in Australia* tonight.
Well, part of being a good >manager< is being loyal to the upper >management< and playing by their agenda, even if it means lying through your teeth, so there you go.
I’m not calling Arteta a liar, I’m just saying. and some people here are saying he’s a good >manager<.
cry more
what a nonsensical, clownish comment.
I wonder if there has been an epl season with this many unregistered senior squad players.
As it stands this is the list of unregistered players.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Merit Özil – Arsenal
Henri Lansbury – Aston Villa
Kevin McDonald, Stefan Johansen, Josh Onomah, Jean Michael Seri – Fulham
Sergio Romero, Phil Jones – Manchester United
Christian Atsu, Rolando Aaron’s – Newcastle United
Simon Moore – Sheffield United
Danny Rose – Rottenham Hotspuds
Kami Grosicki – West Bromwich
Anyone with historical knowledge aware of a season with this many
Christ we were quite close to buying Seri if i remember… now cant even make the Fulham squad
Yeah we were close weren’t we? I remember even Barcelona wanted him as a cheaper alternative to De Jong.
Woah, thanks for the info.
Definitely noticed this summer that a lot of transfer/loan moves were falling through. Romero, Danny Rose, Seri was supposed to go back to France, and Papa’s move to Napoli too.
Baggies not playing Grosicki is insane. He cant stop scoring for Poland lately.
I think they have made this move to remove any distraction for the squad. We know he isn’t going to play again so why not make it official so everybody can move on.
The reality is that this is the only thing Arteta could say. No one throws their higher ups under the bus unless they are willing to walk away from their job. This is the one thing he could say to try to quiet the controversy. Imagine if he said there were non-football reasons. He’d be putting his job on the line. Wenger did this to protect the higher ups many times. It’s part of the job as a manager unless your name is Mourinho and you are all about yourself.
It has nothing to do with picking Ozil or Arsenal, it comes down to treatment of a human being. Let’s be honest this has nothing to do with Ozil has a footballer and more to do with his views. Let’s also not forget that Ozil and Arteta were once good mates when they both played for Arsenal. When arteta came Ozil was happy and mentioned how things had improved. Clearly Arteta isn’t stating the full facts which I understand. It’s funny because When Ozil came out with the statement about China, Arsenal came out and said they don’t involve themselves… Read more »
All of us who have lived through the Colin Kaepernick saga on this side of the Atlantic see the parallels with the Ozil situation. For the past 4 years, coach after coach has insisted that they see no place for Kaepernick in their teams for “football reasons”, even though they had players (and were playing) with much less talent. Let’s not forget the Kroenkes were part of the group of owners who have decided not to sign Kaep since 2016. Like Ozil, he is a once great player who has faded due to age and other reasons. Are they both… Read more »
Nice one. It’s a sad state but not MA fault. Let’s win the thing ….. and unite.
Do what you like, this is last Ozil related article I read, blog or bbc. Enough is enough
Clear enough for me. Been tired of this discussion for almost 2 years now. We were going to have to move past him anyways,it was just moved to a season earlier
I think in a way pur lego haired hero just just dropped the mic on ozils team.
I really like the way hes managed all of this over the last 8 months or so, the message has been consistent to ozil and the squad in general.
My question is do you think emery or freddie would’ve made a different decision in terms of who to leave out? I think its fair to say ozil would’ve been one of the two to miss out in all scenarios.
Only today did I realise how many lunatics Ozil has brought with him into the Arseverse, sorry, i just watch the games! Good riddance to it all. Ozils ego the size of a house. Get over yerself mate and F off. Lets play football. Coyg
It’s weird how everything has to revolve around that guy. And this won’t be the last time, it will come up again and again. The simple fact is that Özil is building a brand. For all we know he could still become a luxury player for the likes of City or United who can perchance afford him, once he becomes a free-agent. It would be incredibly naïve to think that such shithousery between clubs just for the sake of power games off the pitch don’t exist; they do, and we have come off worse for that often. The more he… Read more »
If we were going to leave him out anyway, we should have just terminated his contract and said a fucking goodbye to this PR monster
Come next year after Auba fails to get 20goals this season and struggling to influence games, For footballing reasons he will be excluded from the squad and then his salary and all that nonsense will start all over again.
Save this.
For me the club has a made right mess about the whole Ozil agenda, Arteta is covering this up blatantly for someone else. What else did we expect him to say?
They’re all dancing with the devil – it’s a commercial business and it’s ruthless
Could it be that all of us are right? Özil was/is an amazing footballer but has gotten worse over the years and is not committed as much. He is in his last year and therefore not the future of Arsenal, so let’s find a younger guy to “replace” him. He earns a shit load of moneys, a contract that is as much his fault as the club’s. He is rich and selfish (loyalty bonus, refused paycut) and so are our owners. He knew he wouldn’t play no more, but he us staying. If football was so important to him and… Read more »
I would like to posit the theory that Arteta is a liar because Kroenke actually wants Ozil to play because Trump and Kroenke are buddies and Trump is anti-China and wants to impact their global image by keeping the Uighur genocide in the news BUT Arteta has been turned by old teammate and current Chinese national team manager Li Tie and so hurts the Americans the only way he can, sidelining Ozil. Also, Socratis was there. CONNECT THE DOTS PEOPLE! This makes as much sense as any other theory put forward over the last few weeks. I think its time… Read more »
You definitely got me there😂😂😂
I do believe that it has nothing to do with China. I don’t believe however that it has only to do with football reasons. Especially since Wenger doesnt believe it has only to do with football reasons.
I don’t know why people are focusing on the non-football side of things. Arteta’s first priority was to stop leaking in goals and he preferred a 5-2-3 formation; Ozil doesn’t fit in that formation. The system that Arteta plays does not have space for a player like Ozil, who is great offensively, but for all his running, contributes little to nothing defensively. You can’t have a middle 2 of Ozil + X, because that leaves the center extremely exposed. For all his faults, Xhaka does track back, and has made some very critical interceptions in and around the box.
Now you can clearly see the double standards by the AFC post on Instagram for Nigerians.