According to David Ornstein in The Athletic (£), Arsenal and Mesut Ozil have reached an agreement over the early termination of his contract.
EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal & Mesut Ozil have an agreement in principle to terminate contract with immediate effect + end his 7.5yr #AFC career. If all goes to plan Fenerbahce expect 32yo to travel this weekend & complete move to #FENER as free agent @TheAthleticUK https://t.co/b9JCDK3miJ
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) January 16, 2021
It leaves the German free to secure a well reported move to Fenerbahce during the January transfer window, and will bring an end to his career in North London.
Since joining from Real Madrid in September 2013, Ozil has made 254 appearances for the club, scoring 44 goals and making 77 assists.
He was part of the team for the FA Cup final wins in 2014, 2015, and 2017 – but missed out on the 2020 final having been left out of the squad following lockdown.
It’s a sad way for his time at Arsenal to come to an end, but the best of luck to him in the next chapter of his career in the Turkish Super Lig.
Amen.
Excellent. Let’s remember the good times and get on with the most important thing. Arsenal FC
Yes, that’s fair enough – although we’ll have to think hard to remember those good times, but they were there.
Without trying too hard – his debut against Sunderland, our first trophy in almost 10 years, that performance against Napoli when some of us were hailing him as the next Bergkamp, that 3-0 game against Chelsea, that 2-0 win against United.
I liked the bit with the chewing gum.
The list of big wins is longer for Sylvestre Eboue, Djourou, Gibbs, Almunia. Fabianski clearly won one of the FA cups for us.
Lists of big wins?
What trophies did we ever win with Eboue in the side?
How many World Cups did Fabianski win?
You delusional Ozil Haters dig your own graves, you really do.
Those goals he scored where he bounced the ball into the ground and over the keeper
That “let the bodies hit the floor” goal against ludogorets…
My favourite was that night against Leicester in October 2018 – only a couple of years ago, under Emery, of all people.
He was unplayable – just world class.
https://youtu.be/TyE3cP27VoY
Speak for yourself. You may have to think hard to remember those good times, but some of us are more knowledgeable than you are.
I am jealous of the 350k per week he got for free for a couple of years.
A-f*cking-men. Now let’s all take a guess on which issue will polarize the fanbase for the next few years.
Martinez vs Leno is my guess
Hope it is not going to be Arteta in vs Arteta out.
It could be Auba if he doesn’t start scoring, the issue being what gives on the wing/combinations vs. his ability to score. But remember when we’re winning no-one looks for someone to blame. So I hope we win.
Is still going to be Xhaka
I don’t think anyone likes Xhaka so there’s no debate.
Xhaka actually had a very good game against Palace.
I slagged him off regularly, but I’ll give credit where it’s due.
It depends on what the media’s next agenda regarding Arsenal will be. They will try to brainwash Arsenal fans into turning on one of their own, and succeed with Gooners who happen to be less educated, whilst failing with superior Gooners. The real civil war has never been between “Wenger in” and “Wenger out”, or pro-Ozil and anti-Ozil; it’s been between the educated and uneducated – respectively – sections of our fanbase. Here’s what might happen: Bernd Leno has an amazing season, to the extent where he overtakes Neuer as Germany’s no. 1 for Euro 2021. There, he is involved… Read more »
You got it absolutely right and see the likes and dislikes here. People are already divided on valid comment
Aubameyang or Willian
I’d like to get an Ozil Fenerbahce shirt now. I wish him well. Hopefully we meet again soon in Europe. Thanks for everything Mesut.
Don’t tempt fate. I saw someone waking round the emirates with a 9 Higuian shirt once…
Thanks for everything?! Thanks for fuck all more like. This comes 4 years too late. Blood sucking leach will never be forgotten for the way he took our club to the cleaners. Good fucking riddance.
Yeah man. With his transfer fee and then his wages, we could’ve bought two Mustafi’s, two Xhaka’s and a Pepe.
Such a leach. Stealing all our precious money.
You’ve put in context there Johnny.
We’d be pushing for the title if we had signed those guys.
Take Sanchez out and the list of attackers he played with were no better than mid table. Walcott, Welbeck, Giroud, Joel frikn Campbell. It was Giroud’s customary drought in the second half of the season that handed the title to Leicester. Like Auba now, we missed Sanchez’s goals and Theo’s contract renewal was still far away.
What an absolutely ridiculous comment! Good luck supporting fenerbahce.
Awesome! Champions League football!
Come on you purple and yellows!
Very witty, but there is a valid point here that following the debacle around the Sanchez departure, Arsenal had got themselves into a position where it would have been hugely damaging to have lost Ozil as well (or so it seemed at the time). This placed all the cards with the Ozil camp and they extorted full advantage from that (after first taking time to check there wasn’t a better offer elsewhere). Having played those cards so well and absorbing such a large proportion of the club’s ongoing resources, the least we should expect is that Ozil should perform at… Read more »
Yes, our poor, helpless defenseless club. Christ’s sake, some of you fans …
Funny how we never think of Park Chu-Young, Lucas Perez or William Saliba where we catastrophically disrupted their careers with our appalling man management.
Hang on, it’s not as if either of the first two arrived as world class talents is it? And could the fact that neither of them has done anything subsequently be down to anything as mundane as their talent level?
What winds me up about Ozil is his refusal to take any responsibility for his own part in his downfall. Even back to his Germany days, the guy was in a photo with Erdogan. A man who has made a career out of baiting German politicians, people , and the German nation. His attitude has only got worse since then.
So no, I won’t be sad to see him go. His good times were over rated and his bad times saw him dropped by 3 successive managers. He can’t get out of my sight too soon.
Amen. He sides with people who attacked “his” nation. That’s basically like Lineker posing with Saddam Hussein before the Italia 90 World Cup.
thank fuck for that
Yeah but this team needs creativity and Özil’s stats on key passes are second to none. Plus we need to utilise the money he’s on to positive effect. And he’s got loads of Instagram followers which is great for the profile of the club.
*Walks away with a wry smirk*
One last dance….?
I’m not sure how/if we’ll utilise the money saved from his massive contract in future years given that it’s clear we need to cut the massive wage bill (massive not least because of Wenger-era contracts like his) rather than cut the bill now and in the summer when other contracts come to an end, only to increase it again to clearly unsustainable levels for the club in its current position? And what about the £120 million loan that we’ve just entered into to plug at least part of the hole in the finances? That will need to be repaid of… Read more »
The money saved should be split between bumper contracts for Martinelli, Balogun, ESR, Saka and Tierney which tie them to the club for 99 years. In all seriousness though, judging from reports Balogun is on his way out. Why not offer him 50k a week? It works out at £2.5m a season and £10m over a four year deal. That is surely worth the risk. I know, I know, other players will demand it. But they can fuck off. This is a unique situation and needs affirmative action. We’ve sculpted this young lad into a predator and now he’s buggering… Read more »
The next RL9
Yeah. Rickie Lambert is massively underrated.
Have we not paid him off with a percentage of his future earnings in order for him to agree to go? If so we can’t be saving much.
In the immortal words of Kieran Tierney – Every little helps
We’ve already spent it on Auba and Willian, and paying Partey a huge salary that he hasn’t yet earned, we never fucking learn.
Marge I’m confused. Is this a happy ending or a sad ending?
It’s an ending, that’s enough.
Well said.
downvothe this intp oblivion, i have never been happier to see a player leave arsenal. i really hope we can move on and the ozil fan boys (i don’t mean people defending/liking him) piss off. god i’m sick of them, taking his tweets at face value. “stan” people really are the worst
Spoken like a true dumb fuck.
“Stan people are the worst” – then proceeds to take the opposite extreme.
Well done you tool.
This is starting to feel like a YouTube comments section.
Arsenal fan base is steadily depleting and with Ozil exit,who was the most followed Arsenal player by a mile,the fanbase will deplete sharply….We need to find another great player who will improve Arsenal fan following…
If we win games, playing good football we will gain fans. We don’t need another primadonna with a slick social media team. Give me a squad of Tierneys, Sakas and Martinellis and the fans will follow. If that’s what you are into. Generally I’m happy if proper supporters support Arsenal and we win stuff – doesn’t matter how many of them there are.
Saka will certainly become a world class player.But I suspect that he will not be with us for long.Same applies to our other young talented players.Once the big teams comes,they will most probably go because Arsenal is not what it used to be….
I agree, we need to build a team with more home grown players to have connections with the fans who fill the stadium. Then add a few world class talents to help up the level in certain positions. The future looks good but it is not going to be a short term solution it may take 4 to 5 years before we may be reckoned as a top-4 team.
Also shedding some internet fans nowadays won’t be a bad thing for the club since generally they don’t help keeping the positive atmosphere rather are just jumping from one bandwagon to another depending on how people like Pearce Morgan push them
“Once Charlie Buchan/ Ted Drake/ Joe Baker/ Charlie George/ Liam Brady leaves , the fan base will deplete sharply….”.
I think you’ll find Arsenal is a football club which doesn’t rely on the latest “star” player to provide its support.
God, I’ll be glad when the kids go back to school…..,
If we want fanbase from random people on instagram, I guess we should sign Justin Bieber and let him sit at home like Özil. I personally want to win football games, so maybe we should sign people who can contribute to that.
To me it feels like a lesser version of when Arsene’s exit was confirmed
It absolutely had to happen, ideally a couple of years before it actually did, so in that way it’s a relief and potentially a reason to be happy and optimistic
But given what I once thought of them, also pretty sad it went sooo wrong
You haven’t realised that Arsene was keeping the club afloat yet? Imagine the perennial top 4 finishes now.
I don’t really want to have this discussion But if you want to see the biggest reason we fell off a cliff edge after he left, look at the squad he left behind at the end of the 2017/18 season. Pay attention to the ages and contract situations of our best players at the time Arsene had got us into that position because he lost his judgement on squad building. And because of that loss of judgement he wouldn’t have been able to recover the situation Just because his successors have also made serious errors of judgement, doesn’t change that… Read more »
Yeah, you don’t want to have this discussion but, nonetheless, you insist on having it. My alternative take: we never had as good a squad as it looked from Highbury on. We were top four and through the Champions League group stage every year on smoke and mirrors, in large part manipulated pretty brilliantly by Wenger.
But I don’t want to talk about it.
Ha, fair enough. I typed that bit 1st, realised I did want to have the conversation, and then pressed post before I remembered to remove it This might not be the right article, but I’m happy to continue the discussion if you are I just think that is an extremely surface level view of the situation. It ignores that a club’s success in the present day is a culmination of decisions made in the 5-10 seasons preceding it (although each past season becomes slightly less influential as time passes). I also don’t think that excuses some of the decisions made… Read more »
First, I appreciate your tone and acknowledgment about the post. No problem. What I was trying to say is this: yes, the decisions of the last 5-10 years affect where we are. (Please don’t take every statement that follows as absolutely true; there are exceptions–a particular player, a particular year, a particular match.) The financial constraints of the new stadium meant Wenger needed to keep us in the Champions League, and could never afford to sacrifice a season or two (or three) and rebuild. He managed to attract a few great players (Alexis, Ozil) in part because of his personal… Read more »
I couldn’t have put it better than that, and I won’t even try. However, I fear your eloquent explanation will go right over the head of your average W.O.B.
Wenger paid top money for Xhaka and Mustafi, stop making silly excuses for a man who’d totally lost it. Wenger should have gone five years earlier, he was hugely responsible for the mess we’re in now, he laid the solid foundations for it.
You have a right to you opinion, which may be better than mine. But when you “reply” to what I said, it would be nice if you actually responded to my argument and didn’t just repeat what you would have said anyway.
We still miss Wenger. We won’t miss the likes of you when you go Vonnie. You don’t even get a banner on a plane. No one will give a fuck.
It’s been so many years and people still haven’t realized how ridiculous it was to expect those teams to have even play-offs with barcelona and bayern at their prime?
Well put bro…
Arsene left Auba, Lacazette, Kos, Holding, AMN, Bellerin etc. After he left, we signed Willian, Luis and gave them big money. Arteta renewed Holding and said Mustafi is not going anywhere. It looks like Arteta is taking good care of his inheritance.
Arsene would never have signed Luiz and Willian – especially on those terms. He would have employed Ozil properly, instead of constantly substituting and dropping him. He would never have thrown away a top four (top three really) spot in 18/19 by dropping five point at home to Palace and Brighton in the run-in (remember how we used to regularly clinch top four with a strong finish to the season?). Arsene would never have gone out of the Europa League to Olympiacos, especially after winning the away leg first. And we would not have been a mid-table side under Arsene.… Read more »
Without getting into what Wenger would have done or not, it’s for the good that he is no longer associated with the club’s current avatar. Wenger didn’t deserve these fucking prats belittling him and still seething with resentment. Many of us are too simplistic and mean to even begin to comprehend (let alone appreciate) what Arsene was for this club. Worst thing that happened under Wenger’s watch towards the end was the erosion of the class we had as a club. Guess it was all fine being classy when we had trophies. Without trophies half of our support base is… Read more »
I’ll drink to that but not with a 39 Steps coffee
I have some great memories of Ozil, particularly his link up with Alexis Sanchez, but I’m so glad that this whole saga is soon to be behind us
I should see Thierry Henry 14 every time I read your name.
But I weirdly always see Theo 14. And that makes me sad.
My greatest memory of Ozil is when he signed for us. I don’t think you can say that for too many other players, I don’t think you can say that for any player post Invincibles, but you may, for a very long time, remember where you were when Mesut Ozil signed for Arsenal. have never had more hope and anticipation for Arsenal than in that moment.
I agree. Ozil, and less so Sanchez, were two signings that seemed genuinely ambitious and exciting. I don’t know why we stopped there though. A world class CDM and CB and we might have created a really special team.
Instead we signed Xhaka and Mustafi and the slow decline began…
Why do you think Real let Wenger sign Ozil but kept Modric.? At 32 Ozil’s form has fallen of a cliff while the 35 year old Modric is still performing for Real
I wish you had said this to Wenger back then. Anyways, we chose Eduardo and let Modric go because we could afford only one and had good midfield talent but needed a finisher. Your hindsight is precious please retain it and share your pearls with the world.
I remember that day too ToGooner! I haven’t had that warm glow in my heart about an Arsenal transfer ever. Even Rosicky and Cazorla (whom I loved to bits) seemed natural buys. Ozil seemed like a lottery or gift from the gods. Many other players did more (Sanchez, Monreal, Giroud) – and many will do more (Tierney! Partey, Martinelli, even ESR) – but Ozil came to us as a certified Galactico. I can’t wait for us to be a big enough club to get prime superstars again. Hopefully it’ll go better for us next time around.
I’m so glad you have 0 downvotes for this. The sad truth is that we would’ve won the league had we been more ambitious with transfers back when we had Ozil and Sanchez.
Goodbye, Mesut. Thanks for everything and good luck.
Sad to see him go.
Potential never fulfilled at this club, but it was never going to be under Arteta, so this is the best logical outcome for all parties.
Lol. Yeah thanks for stealing 350k/wk for absolutely zero return. Thanks for all the wee sniffles in training ruling you out of any game north of the watford gap. Thanks for your refusal to move somewhere else 3 years ago and instead happily sit in the reserves and take the money. Thanks for zero effort when you did actually get a start meaning we played with 10 men when you were in the team. Thanks for your social media and PR team trolling Arsenal for the last 4 years to make sure poor little mesut always the victim. Thanks for… Read more »
Spot on El Mintero.
That 350k was a bitch on your daddy’s inheritance. Sorry your lols will be only spent on your brand of political mishaps.
Don’t forget that toxicity and bitterness are choices. Enjoy yours. I choose to be grateful for 44 goals, 77 assists and countless moments of great football from the man.
Well said Leftie!
Well that saga is finally over.
Thanks for everything Mesut – good luck
Sad end – thank you for some great moments Mesut.
More worryingly, who’s going to pay Gunnersaurus now?
I’m sure a fraction of his freed up wages more than covers it. 😉
More poignantly though, glad this saga is over even if a bit sad. Good luck to Mesut, you actually did bring something to us when we needed you.
Now that we dun need to pay of Ozil wages, we can pay for Gunnersaurus now
Word on the street is that it is a package deal. Our green friend is about to become… (drum roll please) FenerSaurus
That’s so sad in reality but I really liked it
I should see Dennis Bergkamp 10 every time I read your name.
But I weirdly always see David Bellion 10. And that makes me sad.
I see Johnny Fart Pants when I see your name
Finally we can move on to improving the squad and bring the club and fans emotions to a better, happier and more successful place.
Dead wood being removed slowly but surely. Come on you Gunners!
Dont blame Mesut alone…how about Willian that we bought from Chelsea…
Edu please answer into this episode.
Waste of ££££, never performed at all when given a chance to start or subs.
Further into that please rate the performance of Nicholas Pepe that we bought for too high price.
Do, we consider this also DEAD WOOD?
The GUNNERS since 1972.
Maybe ..just maybe..Willian might turn a corner. Keep the faith..if it was purely down to pace then we are in trouble..but its not so perhaps he will regain confidence and prove a few people wrong. Best to stop booing our own players..that’s hardly likely to help
Without Ozil, we have already made our worst league start for 40 years – and we’ve still got that muppet from Chelsea for two and half seasons more on £250k a week.
Better, happier and more successful my arse.
Dead wood?! Are you freaking serious? He could have been of much added value to this team if he wouldn’t have been punished for his comments on Instagram, in which he (rightfully) spoke out strongly against China’s persecution of the Uighur population. Instead of supporting Mesut, Arsenal distanced themselves of him because they didn’t want to get politically involved and decided he wouldn’t play anymore for Arsenal. A few months later they supported a Marxist movement, called BLM. It’s a shame how Arsenal acted and one of the reasons many people don’t support Arsenal anymore. Calling him dead wood is… Read more »
No.
It’s all about the money. Yes.
You called BLM a Marxist movement. It tells alot about you. How can clubs stay away of BLM so important to their players? Plus, the monkey chants in stadiums against black players, all that has existed and explains why supporting BLM is a must in football.
Taking the knee for a career criminal by millionaire footballers ordered by a group whose aim is to destroy western democracy & for the past 6 months organising rioting looting & killing across America.
Yea not exactly examples of believers in democracy
It’s a shame Blogs doesn’t allow me to share a recent video (December 2020) in which one of the co-founders of BLM (Patrisse Cullors) confirms she is Marxist.
YouTube: Am I A Marxist? | Patrisse Cullors
People who are sensitive to black people being treated badly by police are not trying to focus on anyone they may accuse of being marxist.
Oh Saka, what a great player?
I am sure, it is more important for Saka to be respected as a human being than being a footballer.
Yes, it must be a Marxist movement because it’s marxist to want the police to stop brutalizing people of color.
Do you know what a Marxist actually is?
Arsenal is a sports club & he was employed as a football not a political pundit.
Fully agree. But if you support players that take the knee for a political ideology, you should also respect a player that seeks attention for modern slavery/concentration camps.
Maybe I’d have more respect if he wasn’t such a hypocrite. He supports a man who locks up any journalist who criticises him.
How can an Arsenal supporter call an Arsenal player “deadwood”?
Any info regarding how much we’re gonna have to pay him for reaching such agreement?
I am sure not less than 80% of his remaining salary
Knowing how smart we are at dealing with contracts and wages, we might pay him more to go than he would have been paid if he finished his contract. Anything is possible with the smart business men at Arsenal.
Carriage clock and a framed picture of Edu.
Anyone knows if we had to pay him (parts of) his wages for that 6 months or not?
All of it… the remaining of his 6 month contract to be paid in 2 yrs ( rolled over )
Fenerbahce FC is not paying 1p for this 6 months duration…
Source : Turkish media
How trustworthy are these rumours from the Turkish media?
Very reliable, being a Turk myself ( North London ) follow the football there too ( Beşiktas Fc )
Apparently he has let go of £ 7 Million, so he can go and play football in Turkey.
Make of it what you want.
He hasn’t left his wages… just his bonuses he has left
Ah, that must be his loyalty bonus due at the end of his contract, seems a fair trade.
He wants to play football in Turkey!
No he hasn’t.
But got £8m in the summer for entering the last year of his contract….allegedly
Ok, so based on the comments here, no one has a fu**in’ clue 😁
Not sure if that means we’re going to pay him off but on wages alone between now and end of season just think how handy that 6-7m would be to go towards a new signing
Don’t think this means a payoff. If it did, no way Arsenal were going to let Fenerbache get him for free. This way Fenerbache get their man for free, we get him off the books and Mesut presumably gets to play football sooner rather than 6 months later.
Arsenal pays. What has not been paid is the loyalty bonus
Good. Pleased for him. Hope it heralds a new chapter for him and his young family. Some of the greatest Arsenal goals and assists involved this guy; great service and three FA Cups in four seasons to help end our hitherto trophy drought. We would have won considerably more but a utterly useless defence leaking far too many soft goals. An absolute disgrace that his talents were omitted from the team this season, when it was clear to one and all that we were missing the creativity – the team’s pathetic results and plummet to 15th in the table was… Read more »
It has already started. They are already calling for the armband to be stripped from him and given to Tierney. The classy-ness that was once associated with this club left with Wenger.
We don’t know the ins and outs of the relationship, we don’t know how he was in training. What we do know is his form suffered greatly due to the style of play MA wanted.
Can we attribute that same reasoning to the incredible dip in form for our current captain? I have no idea, what I do know is he isn’t half the player he was last season.
Auba is a very player but his form has dipped and he should be dropped, anyone else would be dropped in his position. It might ignite a bit of fire to know there’s competition.
ah yes, in the late Wenger years the fanbase was certainly known for the modest restraint of its judgement, and its analytical rigour
I was really disappointed not to have him in the team this season – such a waste and really poor judgment from Arteta not even to have him as an option. And I think you’re right – we did suffer from not having him.
Sad to see him go but relieved this whole thing is over now.
Still find his stats impressing, even after 3 or so seasons without contributing
For quick comparison:
Ozil: 44G + 77A in 254 Apps (1 G/A every 172 mins)
Ramsey: 65G + 65A in 371 Apps (1 G/A every 185 mins)
Santi: 29G + 45A in 180 Apps (1 G/A every 200 mins)
Alexis: 80G + 45A in 166 Apps (1 G/A every 108 mins!!)
Bergkamp: 110G + 90A in 404 Apps (1 G/A every 141 mins!)
Pires: 85G + 57A in 284 Apps (1 G/A every 146 mins!)
Ljungberg: 72G + 37A in 327 Apps (1 G/A every 219 mins)
Not too shabby. But no DB 10 either.
(all stats from transfermarkt)
That’s one comparison I suppose. What about ball retention? What about goals created by the space you force defenders to leave when they’re worrying about you, something a player like Martinelli contributes? What about simply trophies?
What about all those points you mentioned, but for the above listed players? Three of those names are invincibles who did far more for the team than Ozil, including ball retention, movement, forcing defenders back and, simply, trophies.
He’s been a quality player for us, for a time, but not even the best of the Emirates era. There is no point comparing him to anyone pre-2006, he’d lose that duel.
Those stats flatter Alexis because he was such a focal point, and quite selfish with the ball. They also massively underrate Santi, who played much of his later Arsenal career in a deeper role.
Interesting, but of course stats don’t tell the whole story.
Imagine if he’d kind of kept up his output from the first couple of seasons into the post-Wenger era, he would’ve gone down as a legend. Peak Özil would be a dream in this team. Regardless whose fault it is, it’s a shame it turned out like this.
Cesc?
just imagine if we had Cesc,Santi and Alexis Sanchez playing together? didnt Wenger turn down the chace to sign Fabregas from Barca?
He was past his best at that point, certainly physically
Also we had a still motivated Ozil, and iirc Rosicky, Wilshere and Ramsey too, in addition to Santi and Alexis. We certainly weren’t lacking creativity when he became available, and transfers driven by nostalgia generally don’t work out
im pretty sure he had a good season for chelsea and the competition for ozil would have been beneficial!
Yeah he was still good. But far from the sensation he was for us. He was never an athlete, but did have the legs for us to be able to be influential all over the pitch for us. He was pretty static for Chelsea although still had a genius eye for through balls
He would have been a player you would have had to build around, and we didn’t have the players for that. Chelsea had like Matic, Ramires and Mikel to cover for him, whereas we only had Ramsey sometimes when he wasn’t bombing forward
He did! First season back for Cesc (2014/15) was 3G + 19A in 34 EPL apps (1 G/A every 131 mins). Think that was also the same season Ozil was out injured until January.
thanks for the stats
I’m pretty sure he didn’t want to come back to the shambolic defensive performances that undermined most of his hard work in his 1st time at Arsenal. Seemed like face saving at the time to say we didn’t need him
Good point. Can’t forget Fabregas!
Cesc: 57G + 92A in 304 Apps (1 G/A every 160 mins)
And a few others from the column marked “mercurial”:
Nasri: 27G + 16A in 126 Apps (1 G/A every 222 mins)
Wilshere: 14G + 30A in 198 Apps (1 G/A every 305 mins)
Arshavin: 31G + 46A in 145 Apps (1 G/A every 113 mins!)
Rosicky: 28G + 22A in 246 Apps (1 G/A every 293 mins)
(stats from transfermarkt again)
I think these stats show that Arshavin was nearly our greatest goal producer, second only to Alexis. And much better than Bergkamp. Hmm.
Yep, Arshavin our greatest goal machine, and they all came at Anfield.
Only two of those players played a significant number of games for a team finishing outside the top 4. And Ozil played more of them than Ramsey.
Finaly he and his contract at arsenal are past!
I hope it also means that his supporters are now Fener supporters and that they will finaly fuck off from my beloved club and take their poison to Turkey alongside with Mesut.
Why don’t you brown nose Kroenke and leave our club alone, cuntwaffle?!
wow, so inteligent and wel articulated answer.
By saying ‘ Fuck off ‘ to people you do not know is very intelligent is in it…
DICK HEAD !!!
u meant dickhead?
i did not tell anyone i dont know to fuck off. it is just that you are not realy good with reading and that you can not see past your alegiance to Mesut who I dont know and yet I am more than happy that he has fucked off.
Well is spelt with two Ls as is finally , if you want to articulate correctly!
sorry, living in Bosnia for 50 years and typing without autocorrect in foreign language has left consequences on my grammar.
thanks for the corrections though!
Interesting that your English improved dramatically in your later opinion, almost as if you’ve become a native overnight with such idiomatic phrases. Absolutely no need to apologize, just maybe don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house.
Poison? I don’t think I have seen many so called Ozil fans use the you just have.
well mate, i dont know how much have you been following conversations around here. not a single topic on whatsoever (be it ESR, attacking, defense, management, injuries, scouting) could have been discussed without Ozil cult-followers relating it to Ozil and the fact that he does not play.
that is sickening contamination (if the pouson is too strong word for you) and I am happy that the source of it is now gone forever.
What about his haters?
Will they become Galatasary fans now?
And wasn’t Ozil planning to sit out for the rest of his contract?
Whoops.
Looks like he did want to play.
He just didn’t think Arsenal would self-sabotage themselves just to drive him out.
(NB: would have been a different story if we managed to sign Aouar)
No, his hater will find someone else to hate, that’s what they do.
Arsenal fan since 1971.
Season ticket holder since1984.
What do you reckon, mate…?
You’ve got two hopes of getting rid of me on here – and one of them is Bob Hope.
We know by now. Okay, you’re a real Arsenal supporter. Some real Arsenal supporters thought Ozil should have been playing and lay much of the blame on the club Other real Arsenal supporters disagree completely. And there are people in both groups who probably are not real Arsenal supporters. I think that covers all the possibilities.
Hope is anyway the thing with feathers ain’t it? On a more serious note, I do agree that as a club we mismanaged Ozil and some of our other assets (players) poorly and that MA is not showing that he has learned much so far. Otherwise we wouldn’t be stuck with likes of Willian, Soares and Luiz. While at the same time value of Pepe, Toreira and Guendouzi is constantly droping under manager promoted MA. I am not realy buying into ‘building a new dinasty’ rhetorics when I see players with no future or any resale value, like Mustafi and… Read more »
Where’s your mandatory WHATABOUTWILLIAN? comment…
Shove your season ticket start date, my family was watching arsenal decades before you were a squirt in your mum’s fanny.
Dick-waving contest pleb.
Arteta should have built this team with Mesut as number 10 and worked backwards from there. As it’s not official, I can still have him in my top 3 favo current players with Tierney and Saka. We also should have backed him when he called out China for throwing million plus Muslims in prison camps.
Looks like you have never watched Ozil play
Backwards heh? Why stop there, why not swap the cannon with his face wile we’re buliding behind him…guess Fenerbace got themselfes a new fan then yeah?
Emery and Arteta both chickened out of building a team round Ozil, or were too proud. Maybe Artetas hand was forced. So now we have the myth that he declined and lost interest. Farewell Ozil guess you were always Arsene Wengers man
That season he almost broke the assist record…god he was good.
He almost broke the assist record in December, Cazorla got injured, and he got 2 assists for the remaining half a season.
That’s called good management. There are enumerable examples where world class players lose their shine in strategy and team setup.
It is very much up to the chess player to get the most from his/her players.
This is not a dig at anyone, but an observation, albeit, obvious to some.Alexis’ stats above, for example, were not capitalised on by Man U. That is also down to team setup, to certain extent.
We can continue to think one player is going to turn everything around, but we really need more than one to perform at a top level.
Completely agree with you. We don’t know the whole story about ozil’s attitude that may have upset the club hierarchy in recent years….but we haven’t managed our resources (including him) very effectively either. I’m sure if we had managed to use him better we would have benefitted hugely.
Still, it takes two to tango. Its all just a big shame that a player with such a huge talent would end his career leaving like this.
I was excited when he arrived. I am excited that he is leaving.
I guess that sums it up aptly
Finally
Can anyone explain why a player of his calibre cant find a job at any top club?
Unless that’s his calibre
Nobody wants a cancer in their locker-room.
Too late.
Willian has two and half seasons still to run.
Muhhhhh Willian obsession.
Are you paid to post comments about Willian?
You could say it is a step up moving to a club vying for champions league football from the mid-table club Arteta has turned us into.
Klopp needed around 4 years to work it out. We got spoiled under Arsene Wenger and now we demand immediate results. Relax.
Are you saying we got rid of Emery too soon? The players were super supportive of him until he was moved on. I don’t care about immediate results. I’d like to see Arteta succeed but he’s got a lot to learn. He’s made a meal of a good few things, including handling of Ozil (and I’m no fanboy) and others, tactical rigidity, picking the same players until injuries forced his hand, handling of injured players, spouting his phoney drill sergeant non-negotiables shite & giving Willian a free pass despite his Dubai trip and continued rubbish performances with the promise of… Read more »
Arteta ain’t Klopp ( Won the Bundesliga ) Talk it bit of sense…
Bring someone of Klopp calibre I would be happy to wait for 4 yrs
MA took over Emery’s project and needs time to make adjustments and prove the team. He has won us FA cup. Yes, we sucked for around 2 months but seems like we are on the right path. Building a dynasty is a marathon not a sprint.
I do not think MA is the right person to lead that project… I can list you the reasons too, but the list is so massive that the admin will struggle to publish it.
Seems like you have a good understanding of running a premier league team so please, let us know how to succeeded?
A dynasty…?!
We can’t even beat Palace at home and get into the top half of the table! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Gaslighting detected.
How so?
He isn’t 26… +32 ages only Ronaldo & Messi will ever go to a top club
I remember Lampard went to City after 32 ..
And what did he do…. ? Fuck all 🤣
The sad fact is we extended his contract when we really shouldn’t, he could have left with more arsenal fans having fond memories of him, unfortunately the way things have gone mean that I am somewhere between relieved and glad that he is going – roll on confirmation of this and his move away!!!
Take every £ that you are owed Mesut, this management doesn’t deserve you or our club.
So you are a mesut supporter, not a arsenal supporter. It’s weird. Football is a team game of 11 players. Mesut is one guy who used to be good nearly a decade ago. I just don’t get this mentality. Presumably you’ll be following the Turkish league now
If you actually read what Vijay has written, he is critical of the management that have ostracised Ozil – namely Arteta – for reasons that he STILL and probably never will have the balls to go public on. The LEGO headed fool fucked up big time, nearly driving us into a relegation quagmire and it’s taken a couple of kids barely out of their teens and a happy accident to keep him in his job. I would expect genuine supporters of any top club to be critical of that – no hold a world class player as a scapegoat for… Read more »
With supporters like you, who needs rivals?
Class action suit against viju jacob demanding the oxygen you have stolen from the atmosphere is returned.
Is that the best you can do? Call him an oxygen thief….?
I’ll tell you something, the guy has probably forgotten more about Arsenal than you’ll ever know.
I warned in 2017 he was on the slide, and we should either try and sell him, or just allow him to walk out the door on a Bosman. All I used to get was a load of thumbs down, people telling me how wrong I was, and how I just didn’t get him…. Hopefully Ozil takes the Ozilites with him, that crazy cult are out of their tiny little minds. Good riddance to the: Glove throwing petulance The sickies The social media activity, that was designed to cause internal division The arm waving when his teammate made a mistake,… Read more »
We must have been walking away from the same matches with you saying he was drab and me listing him as one of our better players. Then we dropped him and went through footballing purgatory with a hole where our no.10 should be. Still, tiny minds..
Emery + Arteta both dropped him, when we were crying out for creativity
We dropped him out of our squad, when we needed him.
We’ve paid him off, rather than play him, when we’re still crying out for creativity.
That should tell you everything you need to know about his application, professionalism and behaviour behind the scenes
I’m not sure anybody doubts his talent, his performance and conduct have stunk the place out for a long time though.
Good riddance.
Crying out for creativity is what happened after he was dropped. You seem to agree we needed him but you think his performance stunk the place out. It makes no sense to me. You wonder why people like me tolerated him, its because I went along and saw him playing well, sometimes brilliantly well.
So playing well is him at his absolute worst? like… his worst game for you is still well, when most football peapole relate him with being the posterboy of the famous ‘could he do it on cold night at Stoke’ (no he can’t wont and refuses)
No
His gaslighting cult on social media will downvote, it’s all they can do with their pathetic lives 😀
Helped get the monkey off our backs.. could do with the incredible uplift everyone at the club felt when we signed him. That renewed hope ended just the way his career has with us. End of an era.
There aren’t many players Wenger speaks so highly about, to this day. There are also aren’t many who look so natural, so classy, so beautifully on the ball.
But in the last 3 years or so he has represented the archetypal victory of style over substance.
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Which one you think Ozil is will be a subjective opinion, but either way this feels like an end of an era (or error). Long past time to move on and look to the future.
Biggest win of Arsenal this season.
At last.
Hallelujah!
Now if we could only find a buyer for Pepe …10-20 mio would be great
My abiding memory of Ozil is that after him and Sead Kolasinac went through that attempted mugging, they were both given two weeks off from training to recuperate.
When that grace period ended, Sead Kolasinac immediately returned to training – but Mesut Ozil did not.
Neither him or the club gave us an explanation why.
Well, good luck Mesut. You’re another fanbase’s problem now.
That story is utter rubbish
Start of Ozils fall.After that incident he never come back fully…
Yeah, just a few weeks earlier he was looking so good on the US pre-season tour. That vintage assist for Auba’s goal against Barca!
What an odd memory to retain over all the other great ones Ozil has given us since 2013.
Good luck Özil. You brought the magic back when we needed it and I will remember that and put the rest to bed.
It seems okay for the club to treat players anyhow and dump them but players become villains when they dump the club and seeks pastures new. Imagine how Ozil would’ve appeared to fans if he had refused his contract extension (which fans has been using against him) and joined Sanchez at Manure. I used to hold grudge against rvp and nasri and saw them as traitors but looking at how the club and fans has treated Ozil, that sentiment has changed. It’s like the club holds the right to mistreat and dump players and not the other way round.
If my aunt had balls she’d be my uncle, etc.
If Ozil Haters had a brain, they’d be dangerous, etc.
I would say repeated mystery Illnesses and on pitch no shows over the last 3-4 years are very much the other way round. As someone who pays his wages, frankly it’s me that has been badly treated here,
Yh dumb Mesut, why didn’t you hold a gun on the coach for manufacturing stories for the public after refusing to play you? You wld’ve been a club legend now.
So I guess we had to pay his wages to the end of the contract, but got away with a loyalty payment?
I’m sure that was included at least partly in the severance. Think everybody’s happy for this to just be over though
Good to be over, but there must have been some incentive to release him. He will now pick up a salary in Turkey too.
Finally
Gutted
Those of us who know a thing or two about the game naturally are.
I don’t know what Arteta’s motives were for omitting him; to be honest I no longer give a shit.
What I do know is that without Mesut Ozil’s midfield creativity, this club made its worst league start for four decades, sank to 15th in the table and gave the rest of the football world a fucking good laugh in the process.
That’s on Arteta – and it always will be.
Good for both parties. Too bad there is Willian now. We just can’t catch a break!
The worst is that many Arsenal fans think that Mesut’s leaving will stop the problems on the pitch and out of the pitch and that the divine manna will rain on the club to buy all the new toys they desire. How wrong they are.
No one thinks that. But virtually every true Arsenal fan is glad this saga is over. Ozil fans should be as well.
Should Arsenal fans who appreciate Ozil contribution to this club be glad that we’re currently in the bottom half of the table, like you Willian Apologists …?
Clearly anyone who doesn’t think Ozil is a world beater clearly is a Willian apologist. Great logic there bud…. one of the best things about Ozil leaving is people can stop talking about him
Hey man, I heard you’ve been an Arsenal fan since 1971. That’s about forty years, so by my calculations I’d guess you’re in your sixties?
You know, for an elderly person, you seem to be very immature. Sadly been older doesn’t equate wisdom, you don’t always have to insult everyone that doesn’t buy into your defense of Ozil.
Just grow up Pa, you got grandkids to nurture.
You’ll be 60 one day you idiot
Thanks for being so sensitive. Apparently, some of us don’t know how to constructively criticize and can neither take it.
Thanks for the blatant insult. Way to go, Captain Pan
I didn’t like, know you could, like, count, like. Dude man.
I’m 53 if you must know. First attended Highbury with my Dad and brother in ‘71.
But, like, thanks for your, like, highly mature, ageist comments.
Your age is irrelevant but clearly Ozil is a sore spot as you’ve continued to come in here and insult anyone (often geared towards personal insults) who makes comments that disagree with your Ozil view.
This is a blog for Arsenal fans so it’s good to assume that we all want what’s best for Arsenal even if we disagree on how to get there. Hopefully Ozil moving on allows these toxic discussions on Ozil to end from an Arsenal perspective while giving fans of Ozil the opportunity to watch him actually play again.
You make some treasonable points. Fair play to you.
I’ve always said that if people want to dish it out, then they’ve got to expect some back. Which I also think is reasonable.
*reasonable – not treasonable…! 🤣
Thanks for understanding man. Much appreciated.
LMAO!!!! There’s absolutely no need to be petty.
Dude! Your age was never the issue and like Atom said, it’s irrelevant. I just feel you should be more matured and not take every Ozil comment as a personal affront.
LOL!!!
I dont be on here much,but just reading the coments you are 100 percent right.I actually thought this guy was mesut ozil but i thought it couldnt be as he reacts to other fans comments like an angry 12 year old.If he is in his 60s he should get a grip.
My guess is that he has this Benjamin Button thing somehow. He must have been highly intelligent in the past, after all he became an Arsenal fan.
Thank you fot everything Mesut , wish you all the best for the future.
I apologise on behalf of many fans, for how you were treated towards the end. We have to believe that Arsenal Class still exist somewhere !!
#WeHadOzilYouDidntUnderstand
Don’t feel the need to apologise for me, thanks.
I dont think I am ! Its for those others, they know who they are. Cheers anyway 😂
#InsertHashtag
So current, brehhhhh.
I wouldn’t get excited about this at all considering we have Willian on a 3 year contract. It’s like going through a horrific, abusive marriage for years and then marrying a different girl but exact same type again. We never learn.
I like the word Lig.
I like the words Ozil leaves.
I like the words Willian Dropped.
It seems you have experience with dropping Willies
13/14: FA Cup winners
14/15: FA Cup winners
15/16: PL runner up
16/17: FA Cup winners
17/18: League Cup runner up
18/19: EL runners up
19/20: FA Cup winners (albeit without Mesut featuring)
Helped end our trophy drought and brought some scintillating football to our side. Much like the way that time has passed and we’ve appreciated Arsène, the same will go for Özil. Thanks for the memories #YaGunnersYa
Not a terrible return on 7.5 years, though the one that stings from an Arsenal POV is not winning the title in 15/16.
I’ll remember him fondly, not sure he’s as terrible as people seem to make out, feel he’d still offer something to this side.
That said, atleast Arteta can focus on the players registered to play and not be asked about Mesut any more.
Wish him all the best and good luck.
Well said.
We should have had that title in 2015/16.
We would have won it, too, with a better set of defenders than the clowns who systematically pissed away our chances with soft goal after soft goal conceded.
It was more Giroud that couldn’t finish easy chances presented to him by Özil
No mate, trust me, it was our shite defence.
It’s been our problem since the gradual disappearance of the Invincibles back four. Since then, our defending has been a joke.
Only now have we begun to defend marginally better. It’s the clowns in midfield like Willian who are letting us down now.
I wish him all the best in Turkey. He brought us some glorious moments. I remember the game against Napoli and the exhilaration I felt when he volleyed in his first goal for the club! My Hope’s went sky high…and reached the zenith when Alexis joined. EPL became a possibility. Sadly, things went pear shaped later. His output began to wane…and the quality of players around him dropped too, if I am being honest. Now we part ways. It could have been better; but it is what it is. May you enjoy your football again… where the pressure to deliver… Read more »
Fuck him. Good riddance.
That’s probably Arteta’s sentiments as well.
And rightly so.
Anti-social media, butt-hurting gaslighters: REeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeee.
Happy days I’ll drive him to turkey myself just to make he doesn’t have to come back for anything
He’ll be back one day.
Probably a guest on a Sky Super Sunday match involving us. Talking at full time with Jamie Redknapp and Alex Scott about Arteta’s latest failed attempt at qualifying for the EC and our lack of creativity in midfield….
Nah, he’ll probably get a last minute illness, not turn up and still require full payment.
He’d probably say sky were racist towards him without a slip of evidence or any other player to back his claims and he’d hurt his back, throw his shirt off and down tools before taking to Twitter to say how much he misses it claiming how he was ready but they didn’t choose him
*ECL
What a star, good luck to him. I, for one, have no problem admitting my admiration and excitement for Ozil as a player.
I’m in the camp that believes players can’t all be treated the same, they’re human beings and respond to different things.
I do think he should have been used to support us from the bench during this season and let go in the summer but all things considered, it’s a healthy outcome for all.
Good luck to him and good luck to Arteta. Still a lot to do.
Agreed. That’s a very basic people management skill and one Arteta would do well to learn if he wants to get the best out of different personalities. I’d also have had him in the squad from a pragmatic perspective and happily swapped out Willian from what we’ve seen of him thus far. Let’s hope Arteta is learning as he goes and not rigidly sticking to his ideals.
Finally the greedy c..t is going. Now we can look for a number 10 that keeps his head up and not down.
…because creative midfielders like Mesut Ozil grow on trees…
He stopped being that and became a deadweight years ago.
All the other football players on the globe play for free. Why Ozil why not you….
Let the sun shine. Let the sun shine innn. My soul’s shinnnnnniiiiing my soooooooul’s shiiiniiiiiiiing!
(I’m currently frolicking with glee like the end of 40 year old virgin)
Its finally over.
No hate to all the fans who will be moving away from arsenal with him but I’m so happy you’re gone.
Hahahaha, look at all the butt hurt downvoters, it’s glorious, ain’t it? xD
Monumentally epic gaslighting fail from all of them.
Well that’s an end to it. Sad really, great player who’s career has rotted over the last 18 months. Hopefully it will end well for him in Turkey.
A lot of people pin point him and his contract for the declining over the years, but a new stadium, Ivan the terrible (thank god he’s gone) and a quiet American have been far bigger problem.
Such a talented player, but I think when he looks back on his career it will be in the knowledge that he could have done so much more.
He joined us at 25/26?
Was superb for 1 season…his link up with alexis was brilliant.
But whatever happened be it attitude or something else he really didn’t try a leg in the latter years of AW, nothing for emery and absolutely nada for MA.
I am glad this sad tale is coming to an end
Just to point out he played well for MA
MA seems do differ.
And what do You think?
Wishing Özil all the best. Sad way his Arsenal career ended…
This calls for a month of goodly mornings!!!
Coyg ja?