Mesut Ozil says he has no intention of leaving Arsenal this summer, regardless of what’s on offer from the club or elsewhere, and insists that decision must be respected.
In an interview with David Ornstein in The Athletic, the midfielder spoke about his own situation, not being used by Mikel Arteta after the restart, the pay cut implemented on the squad, but Arsenal fans will be most interested in what he has to say about his future.
Admitting there was no injury keeping him out of the manager’s plans, he said he was ready to fight for a place, and made it clear he does not want to leave.
“I’ll decide when I go, not other people,” he said.
“I didn’t sign for two or three years, I signed for four and that should be respected by everyone.
“Things have obviously been difficult but I love Arsenal, I love to work there, I love the people in the club — the real people, those I’ve been with for a long time — and I love London, it’s my home.
“Whatever happened in the last two seasons, I’m happy and very strong mentally. I never give up on anything. I want to help my team and I’ll fight for it. If I’m fit, I know what I can do on the pitch.
“When a player wants to leave and the club says no, the player must accept it unless they find a solution together.
“So when a club wants a player to leave and the player says no, the club must accept it unless a solution can be found together.
“I don’t want to leave, so that’s it.”
READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN THE ATHLETIC (£)
There’s a lot to unpack in the interview itself, so we’ll let people make up their own minds.
What’s very clear though is that while this is good PR for Mesut’s public image, it’s not good for Arsenal, for Mikel Arteta, for the squad of players who had to go through the end of the season without him, or for supporters.
Even the biggest Ozil fans must see that the situation overall is unhealthy for all concerned, so perhaps this might push both sides (club and player) into finding a resolution so we can all move on in a positive way.
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Who can blame him?
I mean, it’d be better for all if he left, but don’t you just reap what you sow?
Wish he’d ride off into the MLS sunset though.
Great choice of cover picture, says it all.
loves the club so much he goes on holiday to Turkey for the FA Cup final ?
Hard to call it a holiday if he lives there and his wife and family is from there.
And he wasn’t playing was he.. should he have sat at home with sky sports instead. Would that be better for you?
He clearly says London is his home, so going to Turkey isn’t because he lives there.
And he could have come to the stadium supporting his mates, NOT A BIG ASK. He hates the people on the board, not the ones he trains along and it couldn’t be too difficult to come to Wembley to show your support, ain’t it?
I hate how this episode is panning out, but let’s not paint Ozil as a saint. It takes two to tango, and all that.
I take your point, but the media circus around him would have been more of a distraction than a help on the day itself. Wouldn’t be surprised if Mikel didn’t even want him there, he hasn’t played since March.
Media circus of his creation
No – media circus of the media’s creation.
I agree. If the club wanted him to be there, he would have been, as they would have forced him. Just because you are not selected for a game, doesn’t mean that you can go whereever you want to instead. If he was in Turkey during the final, it’s because the club allowed it or because they simply don’t care anymore where he is and thus don’t give any instructions concerning that. Özil needs to be very smart and careful about his contract and fulfill his obligations down to the last dot and comma. I am pretty sure Arsenal would… Read more »
Heh. You mean YOU would love it. ?
Be profesional..thats it…respect the contract. Ozil stay and thats it…ant other than that is just rubbish…stop talking.
There were no family or friends allowed in the stadium and a limited number of squad players so he clearly couldn’t just rock up and demand to be let in. He also wouldn’t be going on holiday without the club’s permission so stop making things up, there’s not of issues already.
A limited number of squad players allowed in the stadium, says ? And I am being accused of making things up. Baffles me honestly. If I was you, I would just take a long hard look at the mirror. He went on a holiday with the club’s permission obviously. If not, he would have had his arse handed on a plate and fined for eternity and that’s the level of animosity we are talking between Ozil and the board. And this is precisely why I mentioned not to paint anyone a Saint here. I hate this saga to drag on… Read more »
He asked for permission to go to Turkey because of the Islamic EID.
Islamic Eid? Lol. As oppose to Christian or Jewish Eid?!
But yeah, that sounds like a very reasonable explanation. The Ozil haters won’t appreciate you for making it though.
What is reasonable about it? Pepe Xhaka and Kolasanac are all Muslim and played in the cup final, Mustafi in addition. Beforehand.
Ozil is simply a waste of space {and £350k a week}
Check the saliance of your own comment before being a smart ar*e with others
To be on the stadium maybe?
The club pays his salary. Whether he is selected or not, he should have stayed with the squad till the finale whistle.
Maybe the directive was not to include him at all? It’s a PR war right now. With Raul leaving, lets see how it goes.
The board is fighting ozil because He didnt take the pay cut. We s must talk about the owner first
Enemy’s enemy can still also be an enemy and frankly Kronke and Ozil are both enemies of the Arsenal
No but each team were allowed to include players to attend the final that were not in the match day squad hence Mustafi and Martinelli being there to join in on the celebrations. With all due respect to Ozil, himself and Guendouzi chose not to be there which is really not a good look and shouldn’t sit well with the fanbase. At least Ozil took the time to congratulate the team so big up to him for that at least I guess.
The Athletic article says Arsenal released him for holidays early. Still think he should have stayed and supported the team, but I get not wanting to be there.
Excellent strategy by the club because you basically let him choose if he wants to be there with his “mates” in his free time or not. Well, he chose not to, which turned at least a few more Arsenal fans (and maybe even players) against him I guess. It’s basically a PR war now. Had Arsenal forced him to be there the “poor Özil” brigade would have been out in numbers and scolded the club officials for their cruel actions. Not now of course, because since Özil was surplus to requirements for the final, the noble club gave him precious… Read more »
Maybe Ozil loves Arsenal too? He won three FA Cups with us. Maybe, just maybe, he can’t stand Stan Kroenke’s so-called ‘business strategies’…?
Still, you crack on with your Ozil hate….??
“Does Özil love Arsenal? Maybe. Not for me to judge. But he loves a Turkey holiday more.” That must be the world record for how quickly one has contradicted oneself.
And what do you mean by “…….us getting demolished and Özil sulking off…..”? WE WERE 4-1 DOWN, and our hopes of a trophy and Champions’ League qualification were all but gone FFS. I expect everyone who loves Arsenal to be sulking at the time. Weren’t you???
I doubt Arsenal players are as immature as some of the commenters here and in the media.
They know he’s just had a newborn, is being frozen out by the board, has had an awful 2 years and has a religious holiday.Theyr’re probably happy for him to get a short escape.
They all liked his Instagram post, they all speak well of him.
Willock called him “an amazing person”
ESR said he was “blessed to train with him”
They’re not petty or vindictive like some.others.
Top post. Very well said.
The immaturity of some on this site, not to mention their complete lack of understanding of even the basics of the game, is staggering.
Didn’t say he loved football. Things could have been sorted if that was the case.
Not a holiday – Wife family is from turkey and he also has roots back in turkey. Anyway is not like he was going to be played
He wasn’t even selected for the squad – what was he supposed to do, hand out the half time oranges?
In most cases when the guilty party is too strong, we tend to look for weaker scapegoats. Instead of going for test dodging elites we go for weaker migrants. This is the case with Ozil. Ozil being the weaker party in this whole scenario is being blamed for all the mess created by both Kroenke and Raul. The same team which leaked stories to the media that ozil refused to take a paycut. Just because he did the unthinkable and asked them what they are planning to do with the money if players agreed to pay cuts. The same people… Read more »
Sorry I mean tax dodging not test dodging
Dude, you’re preaching to the converted. I fully agree with everything you say.
I was replying to Ayleym, who was questioning Ozil’s non appearance at the Cup Final – on spite of the fact that he wasn’t selected for the squad and that Wembley, in Cup Final Day terms, would have been more or less empty.
I was just adding to what you said. I agree fully with what you stated.
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Maybe they had to lay off those people because Ozil refused a pay cut?
I know it is ridiculous, but so is all the other speculation in this thread. The whole situation is weird, Arsenal clearly want him to leave, and he is giving them a big FU by insisting on staying. Tough love, maybe he loves his paycheck. Is he justified in sticking it to Arsenal?, it is open to debate, is it hurting our club?, very much so. Ozil comes off as duplicitous and petulant.
Dude come on. Don’t tell me you believe that. Everybody bar ozil and two other players agreed to pay cuts but staff members were still laid off. The only one’s petulant were the ones who went to the media to scheme against their own employee. He is not sticking it to arsenal but to kroenke and Raul.
Stan would love you.
Here’s why Arsenal Football Club laid off 50+ employees. Because they have a greedy cunt for a majority shareholder who doesn’t give a flying fuck about anyone or anything else – much less this club – than himself.
We currently have a world class player on our books who has been ostracised from playing for the club, because he had the audacity to question this board’s integrity in asking for said pay cut.
What will he do in London if his bodyguard Kolasanic gets transferred?
He’ll sing:
“I, I will always love you
You, darling, I love you
Ooh, I’ll always, I’ll always love you”
What kind of a fucking question is that…? Being mugged and then subjected to subsequent death threats is hardly a subject to joke about.
Grow up for fuck’s sake.
I would have thought the best cover picture would be photoshopped in Leo Dicaprio in Wolf ofWallstreet, arms out… Over used yes, but now that cover picture would say it all… ’cause thats just what he said…
“I’m not fucking leaving.. I’m not fucking leaving!”
I’m so tired of this situation. I can’t wait for a year to go by so this mess can be behind us
Only 321 more sleeps to go!
I would have rephrased that ‘this particular mess.’
If you think our troubles will be all over and we can all ‘move on’ because Ozil will no longer be around, think again.
If Kroenke can do this to a world class player, think what he can also do to anyone – club staff, players, even a potentially world class manager… Mesut Ozil is not the problem at Arsenal Football Club. Just saying. ?
Yes agreed, Ozil not the problem. The problem was Wenger, then it was Emery, now it’s Arteta and the owners too. But definitely not Mesut Ozil, no way. ?
You believe what you want to believe mate. All I know is this: this time next year you Ozil haters will all be able to celebrate his departure.
Arsenal, meanwhile, will still be scratching around the Europa and stuck with this board. Which you Ozil haters will probably also celebrate.
And you won’t be here? You know, it isn’t Ozil FC, right? Players come and go…but I will always bleed Arsenal red.
As far as I know, it isn’t Anti Ozil FC either.
I’ll be here, I’ve supported Arsenal since 1971. ?
I’m 98 but also disgusted with the way the club and the fans are treating Ozil. Now I look at Stan, Raul, Kia and co and just feel disgust. Can’t believe they represent my club and I hope Arteta steps up and shows he’s not one of them soon because questions are now unanswered
Just remember, sir, that you’re not alone. There are decent Arsenal fans on this site, who like yourself, have seen and appreciated many outstanding players and Mesut Ozil is one of them. I dare say a man of your experience will have seen the likes of Alex James, Ted Drake, Boy Bastin, Wilf Copping, Jimmy Logie, Denis and Leslie Compton (great sportsmen) and then the likes of Vic Groves, George Eastham, Tommy Docherty and Joe Baker. Those must have been wonderful times. Keep the faith in what is the true ‘Arsenal Way’ and, as I said, know that you’re not… Read more »
Just seen that I may not be addressing a 98 year old man, but a guy who started watching The Arsenal in 98..?
In which case, my bad! ?
Cheers anyway!! ???
’98 Glory hunter :p
You are forgetting that German national team hierachy were also the problem too… But still definitely never Mesut.
This club has many problems, big and small
Mesut is a medium sized one
I would say someone being paid £18m a year to not even pull on their boots is a big problem.Not Mesut’s fault,admittedly,but a big problem nonetheless.
Mate, in terms of problems, Mesut Ozil is NOTHING compared to this board, who have frozen him out. As it stands in terms of his contract he could yet still be a useful player for us – but in reality people have passed judgment on him, rather than ask themselves why he refused to take that pay cut – despite the fact that it has now become crystal clear to one and all that this board blatantly lied to Mikel Arteta and his players that their contributions would ensure that no Arsenal staff would lose their jobs. And yet some… Read more »
I’m looking forward to seeing him play for another year. We were far more entertaining when he was on the pitch.
I’m actually astonished that the tone on this blog and in the comments seems to be against Ozil after the revelations of the past week.
I would have thought anyone with any common sense would be on his side by now..
I don’t even think it paints a bad picture of Arsenal (except the monster contract that they are paying him, but that masterpiece was painted 3 years ago). He doesn’t want to leave, even though he doesn’t play. Ozil is basically saying: I’m happy living in London, I’m happy being paid this super fat contract that Arsenal gave me, I was under no obligation to part ways with any of that fat contract (throw blame about the pay cut for PR), I don’t care if I play football, And a little throwaway comment about Arsenal not caring about Muslim people… Read more »
When all is said and done, I wonder which party will be proven to have been the most honest and transparent. It’s a pity that Arteta is the meat in the sandwich.
Arteta should have stood up to the board and used the player. Instead, he chose to go along with the “ruthless” Raul tactic and try to force him out this summer. The player is no idiot and has made fools of everyone now.
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I think Arteta hasn’t been impressed by him.
I think Arteta chose a squad tactically to get through the remaining games of the season. Needed to focus on solidifying the defensive side of our game, and in some ways the gamesmanship of our players to rid the so-called “soft” label that had been handed to us. Mesut, on his day is a fantastic footballer, and he has brought a lot of joy to us as fans, remember when we were all excited about him joining for £42m. The problem is, Mesut only thrives in a team that dictates the play, we’ve not been doing that for a while,… Read more »
Anthony, you might have your blinders on here, a bit, but I nonetheless absolutely love the positivity of this post and it’s a dream to read on this page today.
I tried to write something that put a positive spin on the Ozil saga, but it just sinks so quickly. Then I tried not to care, and here I am. Thank you.
Maybe I do, but then even in the darkest days of Emery and some of the latter days of Arsene’s tenure, I always look to the positive.
Arteta is building up a team, and I feel we owe it to him to get behind him and our team.
Good post. That said, it’s worth remembering that Ozil has had stand and watch as Alexis, Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey have all been allowed to leave and not been adequately replaced.
If this board has turned us into a red and white Everton, that’s not Ozil’s fault – although there’s plenty who lay our demise from the ECL and the top four squarely at his feet.
I kinda agree with you because from the start of his saga, one thing which was apparent and even it is now is some people don’t want him in the club maybe it’s Raul or KSE, I don’t know but Mikel has made his choice wisely and knowing Ozil has only a year left on the contract Mikel would be an idiot to pick Ozil’s side in the conflict.
Idiots are brave as opposed to cowards
It’s not a direct relationship.
Believe it or not Mikel is the one in the line of fire (without any fault of his own) and he had to make a choice because he has to coach a team and prepare them week in week out!! Also remember this is the first job of Mikel and he cannot go bonkers like Guendouzi did. This will raise a lot of questions of his behavior which he certainly wouldn’t want this early in his managerial career. .
I don’t want to believe that Arteta is taking sides. I have a feeling it’s about Ozil’s refusal to take the pay cut. That coming from a senior member of the team and the highest paid probably left Arteta disappointed.
Ozil had the right to refuse it but he should have known that there are always consequences to our actions. He didn’t act like a team player that time and Arteta is clearly trying to build a team.
But two others person didn’t take it too and a just ozil them talk about only
You should really read the whole interview. It goes into depth about Ozil’s decision. There is much more to it than this post mentions. He explains his decision (and he was not alone in the decision) quite clearly. We may or may not agree in the end, but we should really decide how we feel about it based on all of the information out there.
This post does not address that issue.
This ESPNFC article has more of that insight:
https://www.espn.com/soccer/arsenal/story/4158640/arsenals-ozil-people-have-been-trying-to-destroy-me-for-two-years
Just read this. Great link. Wasted on the Ozil Haters on this site, of course.
Ozil was a team player in asking for clarity regarding paycut. The finger should be pointed at both Raul and Kroenke who lied to the players. Ozil didn’t lay off staff after promising not to. The people who tried to forced him out of arsenal not only unsettled Ozil but made a mug out of Arteta by making look bad in front of the players are the ones to be blamed. Ozil is going to go and then the same thing is going to happen again to maybe Aubameyang or any other player key player on a bigger contract.
What Arteta thought the paycut was and now what he realises it is are probably 2 different things. I wonder if that changes his feelings towards Mesut.
Excuse me? Beating €ity and chel$ea to win the fa cup despite Ozil rather than because of Ozil has justified Arteta’s decision.
It’s clearly not Arteta’s decision – it’s the boards. He was playing him right up until lockdown. There have been no stories of unrest in the changing room (aside from Guendouzi) and the only major Ozil story to emerge post lock down is that he refused to take a pay cut implemented by the board. There is absolutely no way Arteta would leave a player of Ozil’s pedigree out for taking that decision – it is purely financial and not related in any way to the game. No, this is between Ozil and the board. Arteta’s only involvement has to… Read more »
It seems more likely this was Arteta’s decision as he is the 4th consecutive manager to freeze Ozil out. We’ve reached a point with Ozil where I wonder if the past 3 years are what people remember vs. his first couple of good seasons when we look back on his time here.
No one will remember the first Ozil, only the Ozil who took 350k a week and somehow felt he was a player who deserved special consideration and perks like not having to train after an away game as under Wenger.
Here’s what happened, Ozil had special treatment, Emery took those away. Ozil pouted to get them back and its been a variation of this game with different managers ever since. He’s a one way player, one of the best in the world, but the modern game requires two way players. He’s no longer a competitive player for the PL.
You name me one player who can be competitive for the Premier League – or any league – when they’re not being picked to play …?
He had more than his share of chances to show what he had. He had 2 assists in the 2019 season…the same as Sokratis. That is pathetic.
Ok. You’ve rubbished him – and you’ve got your wish because the board won’t allow him to play. He’s gone.
So. Who would you replace him with? Who is going to wake up this stagnant midfield and get us back in the top four and the ECL?
Well, Willock replaced him in the 2019 Europa League final in the last 20 minutes and immediately was 100 times more impactful in the match. It’s not actually that hard to replace the current incarnation of Mesut Ozil. Says alot when a youngster makes you look out of your depth. He just doesn’t fancy it anymore. I wish he did.
Just because some xenophobic commentators and pundits tell you that the English youngster Willock was “100 times more impactful” than the foreigner, Ozil, doesn’t mean he was actually “100 times more impactful” than him.
If you think Willock is a suitable replacement for Ozil, then you really don’t know your football. Willock lacks the technical ability and does not make the optimum decisions – just two of the skills which you cannot deny Ozil has.
Joe Willock….?! ?
Be honest, are you Mesut Ozil? Lol
More likely Ozil’s PR or agent team.
Neither.
Just an Arsenal fan since 1971 who knows a world class player – and a corrupt board of directors – when he sees one.
Speak for yourself. Those of us with long memories and intelligence will remember the whole lot, whereas you will remember what you’re told to remember by TalkSport and the rest of the Ozil-hating media.
Don’t tell us what happened – you’re not some expert insider; you know fuckall.
Spot on. Any true Arsenal fan knows that Talksport ( with the exception of Ray Parlour and Perry Groves) is an infestation of Tottenham bias. Jealous Tottenham bias who rubbish Mesut Ozil because they haven’t had a player with half of his ability. The trophy dodging cunts.
It’s only a matter of time before I phone those cunts at Talksport up and ask them when they’re going to sort their own back garden out – namely Tottenham.
59 years without a League Title.
29 years without an FA Cup.
12 years without any fucking trophy at all. The fucking mugs.
Kinda the other way around mate. Four managers, same owner, talented footballer, same outcome.
Spot on.
If he was really that bad, why did Arteta play him then for more or less every game up until lockdown? His form at the start of this calendar year was certainly no worse than any of our other attacking midfield players, post Emery. In fact, I remember he played quite well against Manchester United on New Years Day. There were also games under Emery where he was absolutely outstanding, the 4-2 home win against Tottenham and a 3-1 win against Leicester City where he was unstoppable. This decision to omit Ozil has not been taken by Arteta – it… Read more »
Dude you are waiting your time. To some here all that have to be done is get rid of Ozil and then all problems will be solved. If you have an owner with the audacity to blatantly lie to players. Manipulate them to take pay cuts then turn around and do exactly what he promised them not to do. If it comes to taking sides between ozil and kroenke. I will take ozil’s side any day because of the person ozil is compared to kroenke. Yes it’s true Ozil has not been performing well for some time now. Isn’t it… Read more »
Agreed.
And if Kroenke can do that to a world class player, he can do that to anyone – players, employees, and managers – including Mikel Arteta.
What do you mean “the 4th consecutive manager to freeze Ozil out”? You’re clearly including interim managers, and it’s a bit of a stretch to say Freddie froze him out. And can you remind me when did Arsene “freeze Ozil out”? He always picked him when available and not needing to be rested for more important games, right up until his departure.
Maybe the greatest manager in our club’s history was right, and his inferior successors have all been wrong?
Wenger didn’t support the size of the contract Ozil was given but was himself. a lame duck because of his share of the blame allocation on the Alexis / Lemar clusterf+&# at the end of the previous transfer window. If Arsene had any future at that stage he might well have called Ozil’s bluff and got rid for a fee or a decent swap instead
Sliding doors moment for me that summer beforehand Rambo would still be a gooner for one.
Ozil is a busted flush. Lazy and a luxury. At the stage we’re at we need players who can dig in and he’s not one of them. Sooner he goes the better.
“Players who can ‘dig in’.”.,,?! ? This is Arsenal, mate, not Leyton Orient. We employ attacking midfielders to be attacking midfielders – not John Sitton style cloggers!! ?
Imagine if there was no TalkSport, or any other media – you’d have no opinions.
The board pannicked when giving him a contract because our only two “name” players were running their contracts down. Since then he has played for four managers and has been hopless for all of them. Ozil has an eye for a pass but nothing else. In modern football the best players do more. Ozil does not have it in him to play at the highest level. Look at his displays over the last three years. For the most part he has been embarrassing. He needs to play at a lesser level where his overall ability lies. You can’t blame him… Read more »
In a nutshell! Shocked so many are still fooled! Arteta demands 100%, so why do people still think he should pick him when you do not get that ever! He shy’s from challenges, rarely dribbles, does not score nearly enough and is not even close to Bergkamp status for a pass, or Thierry and Cesc for that matter! Should have signed Cesc back when we had the chance as Ozil has proved to not be the world class player we thought we were getting. Cannot wait to be rid and I really have tried to support/like him, but he is… Read more »
Because the broad can real those managers
So, as someone who clearly knows what constitutes players at the highest level, who would you replace Ozil with next season, to get us back in to the top four? (NB. Without Ozil, this squad picked up 16 points from 30 in our remaining Premiership games after lockdown)
The fantasy question of who I would like to replace Ozil is different to what will happen. Of course I would like to see Mo Salah or Kevin De Bruyne but with our board we are likely to buy another past it name player who is cheap in order to placate fans who are only satisfied with name players. Realistically we have to hope that Nelson, Martinelli and Saka blossom in to decent players. As for Ozil to repeat what I said before, he has prodused nothing, including regular assists, for years.Not one of Wenger, Emery, Llungberg or Arteta could… Read more »
This is crazy.He had a goal or assist every 1.8 games under Wenger
1 in 3 since contract which isn’t even that bad
Overall he has one every 2.1 games of his Arsenal career which is the 2nd best of any non striker in our history, Cesc is 2.0
Oh and he’s created 1 of every 5 chancess Arsenal have created since 2013/14
It’s amazing how people are rewriting history.
Stick to what he has done in the last 3 years.
If he was playing well and had had good current stats why does no club want to get him even on a free??
Amazing how people are rewriting history.
Ozil doesn’t work very hard (and that’s not the same as running). You ask a bunch of guys to work hard and with intent then allow the ‘star’ player (or any player for that matter) to coast at their own levels then you lose creditably. Players don’t take you seriously and not only do the standards drop in terms of work rate but also how receptive they will be to anything else you say. It’s called managing a TEAM. Ozil made the decision for him not the executives. Do I blame ozil? No I don’t. He is what we signed.… Read more »
Ha ha ha. Yes, Arteta came in and never gave Ozil a chance? That was it, right? Or no, he played him but then the Board asked him not to pick Ozil anymore. That was it, right? And what was it with Emery again? He also was too weak to pick Ozil. And what about Arsene? He had lost it. Right? Sorry for asking for clarification but I does get so confused trying to keep track of all the wrongs done to the highest paid player at the club.
It’s this board of directors. No one is safe from Kroenke and the Stooges. Not even Arteta.
If only he had the same determination to win his place back in the team
He believes that he has done his part, when it comes to football.
From the interview:
“I fully respect the coach’s decision but I believe these things should mainly be decided on the pitch. After the restart, I wasn’t given a chance to show what I can do. You don’t play 10 games in a row if you’re unfit, not good enough or don’t behave well. If I played these games badly and was then left out completely for that reason then I might understand, but this was not the case.”
Just to be clear: I personally don’t defend him in this case, I think that his performance was pretty mediocre. Also I believe in Arteta, and I believe that the non-footballing reasons that have lead to Özil being dropped, are related to the non-negotiables. Özil either doesn’t understand those, or believe that he is above those rules, and thinks that when he plays “good”, then everything else should be forgiven. We saw with Matteo that this is not the case with Arteta. It is not enough to post “I am ready” pictures on Instagram, you have to really commit yourself… Read more »
Dude, please.
How can he commit when he’s ostracised from playing …..?!! ?
Unpopular opinion – I think that anyone who is aware of the fragility of a clubs finances and stature but is prepared to pick up their crippling paycheque while barely jogging around the field, creating problems off the field and then refusing to move on is a shitty person and a faux sportsman.
There. I said it.
You’re not wrong. But he’s an employee in the entertainment business. Sports has very little to do with it. Not giving a fellow player a hand getting up if he’s falling, that’s bad sportsmanship. But he works for a business, and he runs a business. Like it or not. He’s right – he has a 4 year contract, and we’re stuck with him. I don’t understand the finer details of football contracts, but I’m sure it would be very very difficult to cancel a contract on the grounds of “you’re not trying hard enough”.
In any other world, you get fired. In any other world, you don’t continually get rewarded for poor performance. In any other world, if you don’t try hard enough, you are unemployed. But this is different. It’s football and I agree Ozil isn’t doing anything wrong legally. But morally and on an individual level, I think he’s behaving terribly and he doesn’t really care about being a sportsman anymore. He quit international football for being “scapegoated”. Try being an English footballer. We scapegoat them every world cup. They don’t whinge about it. He’s been happy to basically not play for… Read more »
I agree completely. But in any other world, you work from 9 to 5, and thats it. Thats your output. In football, you can work every day, but not play in the weekends. That’s not your own decision. He’s not performing poorly (that we know of) – he’s simply not picked. You can’t really fire him for not being picked. That would be the equivalent of putting your accounting in the broom cabinet, and then firing him for not being at his desk.
Mate, I totally know what you’re saying and contracts are so important so that when Sp*rs waste their money on shitty signings, they can’t just bin them off. I totally get it. But Ozil could be competing on a field with a crowd that love him in like two months time. He could even pretty much make the same bank doing it. But he doesn’t want to because his competitive nature is gone. The most heartbreaking thing in the Wright Rocastle documentary was when David was told they had accepted an offer from Leeds. He cried in the carpark. And… Read more »
“Things have obviously been difficult but I love Arsenal, I love to work there, I love the people in the club — the real people, those I’ve been with for a long time — and I love London, it’s my home.
If you can’t see the less than subtle swipe at the current manager and his personnel then I don’t know what to say. Basically Ozil liked it when he was the coddled superstar who was wrapped in cotton wool.
This kind of passive aggressive communication is exactly what I’m talking about.
Maybe he thinks Mikel is one of those real people, that he’s known for a long time.
The Manager is ironically one of the real people’s who he’s been with for a long time
Johnny, I don’t think Ozzie has any issues with Mikel Arteta. It’s the board. He has stated in that interview that there are people at the club who have, and I quote ‘tried to destroy me during the past two years’ unquote. It’s the board. And this reluctance to terminate his contract early is a clear ‘Fuck You’ to them. I don’t blame him at all, in fact, I admire him for standing up to them. He had the balls to call them out on their shoddy pay cut requisition and to question their integrity. The 50+ Job losses and… Read more »
*Ozil, not Ozzie. Fucking auto correct. ?
“In any other world, you get fired. In any other world, you don’t continually get rewarded for poor performance. In any other world, if you don’t try hard enough, you are unemployed.”
The current British government and Chris Grayling say Hi.
I’m pretty sure if any of them caused problems for three different prime ministers, were happy to do the absolute minimum and generally had a petulant attitude, they would be quickly removed from office.
I’m sure Chris Grayling (not to mention Grant Shapps and David Davis) would thoroughly agree with your assessment. FAILURE IS NEVER REWARDED.
Can you just stop relating fun things like football to politics?
It’s bad enough that every fucking day I have to listen to everyone’s opinions on the coronavirus and Brexit and Trump and the furlough scheme. It’s bad enough that every family meal time descends into black lives matter, twenty-seventh wave feminism and the wealth gap. It’s bad enough that I had to leave all forms of social media because all that is left of it is people calling each other Nazi’s.
Don’t bring that shit into this house.
I was going to point out that errant apostrophe but don’t want to start the nazi name calling, albeit of the grammar variety…
Thanks man, I appreciate you not mentioning that.
Top post, Johnny. ?
Boris J says hi
I’m not saying he should be in the starting 11 but how do you know he’s had a petulant attitude? The truth is none of us know what’s been going on, we just make assumptions based on tiny snippets in the media from the club and the player. I’d like a fat bold line drawn under this entire episode but I’m not willing to sling mud at the player or the club without being furnished with facts. The only thing I do know about is that he was proved correct for not accepting the pay cut. Let’s just hope they… Read more »
So he’s been trouble for Mikel Arteta, Freddie Ljungberg and Unai Emery. These aren’t really assumptions. I think it’s fair to say that Ozil is a temperamental individual who does pretty much what he likes. His tweets in the wake of being dropped by Arteta and Emery show an attempt to use his considerable fanbase to score points and undermine the authority of the manager. It’s funny how we happily assume that Guendouzi has been disrespectful and needs to leave with little or no evidence. But if we insinuate that Ozil’s attitude is anything other than exemplary then it’s mud… Read more »
The guendouzi situation is different as we’ve actually been given some sort of explanation both times there has been a problem. It’s also different as he isn’t on a bumper contract so it doesn’t wind up the fanbase, who are desperate to see a rebuild, as much. I’m not even defending him I’m just saying that both sides play the PR game and try to curry favour with the fans. I’m just willing to hope for a rapid conclusion and save the mud slinging until we have some actual facts. What we have currently is two PR machines in full… Read more »
I think this is a great point and I agree with almost all of it. Unfortunately until we read Ozil or Arteta’s book we will never get the full story. And even then it will be heavily biased. I hate to use the adage no smoke without fire, but I would usually say if a lot of people had a problem with someone, then there’s probably a problem with that person. I just don’t buy the frozen out in order to save money theory as Emery, Ljungberg and Arteta have all used Ozil. Unfortunately each one has eventually fallen out… Read more »
While I agree what a lot of what you said, all three managers have had shit results with no plan b on the (ozil ) bench , we totally could have done with ozil coming off the bench to pick the lock against villa , recently and a experienced European player against the greek lot in the Europa League , to give two examples at least have him on the bench to see out a game or try Nd provide an assist , if he is going to be here for next season s
Mate, what evidence do you have that he’s fallen out with Arteta?
Yes, he’s been ostracised from playing, but that was the board’s decision for Ozil not accepting the pay cut.
There has been no evidence to suggest a falling out between Ozil and Arteta.
Actually those are assumptions. We have absolutely no context to claim Ozil has caused Arteta any problems, other than the ownership not liking paying him the money they signed on the line for.
Isn’t that an assumption?
Seems odd that Arteta would have given him game time in the first place if this was the case.
We all have the ability to read body language and a considerable number of us have read petulance, amongst other things, in Ozil’s.
You can add, but not limited too, laziness and indifference to that.
Although it’s Jose, and we know what we think of him, Ozil does talk about a row the two of them had. Jose is quoted as saying this… “You think two beautiful passes are enough. You think you’re so good that 50% is enough.” And then… “Oh, are you giving up now? You’re such a coward. What do you want? To creep under the beautiful, warm shower? Shampoo your hair? To be alone? Or do you want to prove to your fellow players, the fans out there, and me, what you can do.” I mean, doesn’t this sound just a… Read more »
It’s unheard of that Real would sell a 24 year old if they thought he was a world class player and over time their decision to sell was the right one.
Ozil undoubtedly has his qualities but his weaknesses are too great to put him in the very top bracket of players
Actually Real are widely known for signing and selling on whims and for headlines to appease some of the most volatile, fickle fans on the planet.
Why would they sell and sign players to appease our fans?
But they’ve won 3 or 4 Champions League titles since he left, so it really doesn’t matter does it?
Well, he’s gone now. And we have an over the hill Chelsea reject for a number 10, instead of a world class former Real Madrid player.
Satisfied? ?
And you listen to the words of Jose Mourinho…? ?
Not at all, you interpret and assume all that from a look, in what world is that a fair conclusion?
It’s my conclusion, much in the same way as when i see someone crying i think they are sad or smiling i think they are happy
He was dcapegoated by his federation and they were plain aweful
They weren’t awful. They criticised his close relationship with the Turkish president who has a horrible human rights record. That seems fair enough to me. If Jordan Henderson started hanging out with Vladimir Putin, I’d expect the same. Here’s what the Bayern Munich president said about Ozil’s performances after he announced his retirement. Sound familiar? “Ozil has been playing shit for years. He won his last tackle before the 2014 World Cup. All he is doing on the field is playing cross passes. Now he hides himself and his crap performances behind this photo (with the Turkish president). Whenever we… Read more »
Johnny 4 Hats: Here’s my opinion on the morality and ethics of economic relationships
Also Johnny 4 Hats: <crying> OH GOD PLZ DONT GET POLITICAL I’M SOO TIRED OF HEARING OTHER PEOPLE’S OPINIONS
There’s definitely a way of delivering that point without being patronising. We’re all gooners here and therefore on the same team.
I was just making a (hopefully) humorous reference to the saturation of political discourse on the internet. The last thing I want to do is assess the competency of our current leaders when discussing matters football, both economic and moral.
And ease up on the Caps Lock. Your point is good enough not to need it.
I absolutely agree with you. Being a German citizen (at least according to your passport) and being best buddy with Erdogan can roughly be compared to Gary Lineker meeting and hugging Saddam Hussein shortly before the Italia’90 World Cup and then having an absolutely crappy performance. Everybody can judge for themselves if they would have found that cool, outrageous or simply wouldn’t have cared. In Germany I guess the majority of football fans found it not so cool. If those people targeted him because of “racist” reasons and would have applauded & praised or at least not targeted … let’s… Read more »
I hate to say it, but I have to agree, Hats. I just don’t get why Ozil doesn’t want to be on the field for someone. Maybe he doesn’t believe he can perform at a high enough level anymore. It’s shameful and as popular as he used to be with his teammates, they have to resent him now. He had some superb years with us, but he was always a luxury player and now we can’t afford that. We can all remember the magnificent passes, exquisite flicks, and solid ball control; but also the jogging back on defense, distaste for… Read more »
I love your optimism man but I think Bayern or Juve wouldn’t touch him with a thirty foot barge pole.
And maybe the fact that we can’t offload him, even for free and paying some of his wage bill, says a lot about where Ozil is in other clubs estimations.
I remember when everyone wanted defensive signings as our attack was too fluid with Alexis and Mesut at their best.
The contract isnt going away and he wont take a pay cut. Recoup some of the money by playing him.
Even Blogs is milking the situation coz any articles with Ozil translates to very good Traffic on the site.
One things for sure, u will see MO10 in the next Kit release pics on Arsenal.com
He doesn’t hate The Arsenal. He loves The Arsenal – ie the players and the supporters.
It’s Stan and the fucking Stooges that he can’t stand. And I don’t blame him. Fuck the board. And that’s basically what he is saying by refusing to shift. Good on him. ?
You are correct. And, the clubs always look to take advantage of the players. It is nice to see a player stand up to a club, and force them to respect their end of the contract. It sets a precedent for others that follow behind them that will have lesser means.
fragility of a the clubs finances- owned by a multi-billionaire
crippling pay cheque— i thinks we still operating
barely jogging on the pitch– check out opta stats
creating problems off the field- supports causes you dont
refusing to move on– contracted not obliged to move on
shitty person– and the rest are Dalai lamas
faux sportsman– world cup winner , more ability in his left little toe than the rest of your body
Well maybe his left toe. But not his right.
What about “anyone who is aware of the fragility of a clubs finances” who is unwilling to do anything about it except sack 55 people whose entire annual wages are approximately 1/2000 of your net worth?
Fragility of the club’s finances…?! ?
We have an eight times over billionaire for a majority shareholder and are about to pay £250k a week for three years to an over the hill Chelsea reject.
There is no fragility.Our owner is worth $10b and his wife $8b He covered the most distance and had the most ball recoveries Vs United and was near the top for all the games he played. He had a faster top speed than Bellerin, Pepe and Saka Vs Newcastle. He has been by far our top chance creator per 90 this season with 2.6 He has got a ton of pre assists because he’s playing from deep. 5 in the last 10 games in fact. Arteta said his “attitude has been incredible” and “he’s giving everything he has in training”… Read more »
Straight from the horses mouth. And there are STILL people who voted this down and can’t get it into their thick Ozil- hating heads.
This has got nothing to do with Arteta and everything to do with Stan, the Stooges and that fucking pay cut.
How do you know that’s not already the case? The player has stated he wants to play and, when allowed to do so, train. Or sit on the bench or in the stands with a brolly – because he’s not been picked. What physically more can the guy actually do….?
#KROENKEOUT, #RAULOUT, #VINAIOUT
Ozil out, thanks
And your replacement, to get us back into the top four is ………….
I think we can do better for 350k per week.
You haven’t answered my question. Who would you replace him with, to get us back in the top four….?
Oh yeah cause Ozil gonna get us back in top 4? How many matches per season has he missed through mystery ‘illnesses’ cause the manager or else the player doesn’t fancy him against that particular opposition. It’s disgraceful that you mention him in same sentence as DB who not only had the silky skills but also fought harder than any other player on the pitch to win. You label people as “Ozil-haters” yet we were all delighted when he signed – it’s his performances and lack of application that mean we don’t rate him anymore. There’s no hate here just… Read more »
I salute your resolve and honesty Mesut
Screw the board and the losers trying to break you
Yeah, screw the board and the fans and the manager and the backroom staff and the… oh wait, that’s the whole club.
In that case, screw Arsenal. Let’s all just support Mesut as he goes about his daily activities. Wow, look how he advises his PR team what to tweet with his cultured left index finger to make him seem like a poor victim.
What a hero.
no one said screw the fans
Top post Gus. Well said.
I assume he’s maneuvering for a full pay-off, but if not and he really just loves being at the club, then can we change his role to Gunnersaurus?
That way we at least get a shift out of him and it would put a stop to the endless questions at press conferences.
Sanchez just got a full pay off at United. Sets standards
Good news: top players want to stay at Arsenal.
Play the man then? If we are going to have him on the books then use his talent. Honestly if we haven’t played him after the restart because he refused to take a pay cut then that’s absolute crap. 55 staff members losing their jobs justifies his decision.
We are so much more creative with him in the squad so let’s utilise him if we are going to pay him.
He pretty much says that in his interview too, that the club weren’t clear enough and a few more players decided not to take the pay cut but only his name came out.
They clearly sold the players (and worryingly the manager) a pack of lies re. the pay cuts.
Based on…?
the 55 job loses?
The Athletic 5th August:
“When the majority of players agreed to a 12.5 per cent pay cut in April, they did so on the understanding that it would preserve jobs for other staff”
Apologies. I misread your comment completely. I agree that they lied to the players.
This. There’s stories about players like Xhaka wanting explanations. Rightfully fucking so it they took pay cuts. If your Ozil, then his reasons for not are all the sudden justified if he couldn’t get assurances his pay cut would keep people in their jobs and simply just help Kroenke sports weather the storm.
Let’s call a spade a spade here, do you really think mesut cares about people losing there jobs? Mesut cares about 50 grand not coming out of his wages each week. If he cared anything about arsenal he would go play for Beckham in America.
Sorry mate, but in light of the recent evidence regarding the board’s pay cut lies and the fact that they have clearly ostracised Ozil from playing, your post holds no intelligence or credibility whatsoever.
FYI–
After the FA Cup win the pay cut percentage was reduced to 7.5%
Further:
“Arteta himself has also agreed to a cut and the club’s 14 strong executive committee have also agreed to take a 30 per cent reduction.”
Maybe it did preserve jobs, it’s possible more would have lost their jobs if they hadn’t.
It is like 2 million to pay their wages for God knows how long. No one would even noticed if they were taken out from transfer budget. If the club wanted them to keep they would have.
I get the impression that you’d believe anything that this current Arsenal board would peddle.
50+ people lost their jobs because Kroenke is a greedy cunt – not because we’re strapped for cash. The man is a billionaire- the money is there.
Well, depends on how they said it exactly. That statement could still be plausible despite letting 55 people go. Maybe without the pay cut they would have needed to let 80 or 120 people go. So the measure did actually preserve jobs for other stuff, just not for each and everyone.
If they said that the players should take the pay cut and if they do then nobody else needs to lose their jobs, then it would indeed be rather scandalous.
I read somewhere that the other guys who initially refused the cut later agreed to it. Only Ozil stuck to his guns. Ozil was probably right judging by the events of the past week but sometimes you’ve got to “play with your team”. His REFUSAL to the cut has unfortunately become a big deal.
I admire him for having the guts to stand up to this corrupt board. He was proved right. Apparently Xhaka has now led a player’s revolt, demanding answers from the board as to why there were sackings when the players had been promised that, by taking a pay cut, there wouldn’t be.
Are we really so much more creative, or just basically playing with 10 men though?
If he wants to play go in the u23s or find another club. I.m sure Arsenal would happy to shift even a fraction of that King’s ransom he gets paid
Yes we are? For the 2019/20 season in which ozil was frozen out by 2 managers, he still created more big chances per 90 minutes than any other Arsenal player. So yes. We are.
To put this in perspective – Ozil created 1 big chance the entire season which ties him with a bunch of players. That’s a pretty damning statistic as it means we’re paying 350k a weak and changing the team formation when he plays to get 1 big chance per 18 games games played (PL).
And here’s another statistic. After the restart, minus Ozil, this team only took 16 points from a possible 30. Nowhere near good enough for a club like Arsenal – that’s the stats we now face going into this new season without him on the pitch.
Sorry, you can’t just write that nonsense without being challenged. See link to official PL stats for 19/20 season. Ozil big chances created? ONE…..
https://www.premierleague.com/players/4714/Mesut-%C3%96zil/stats?co=-1&se=274
My bad on that. “Big chances” must of been the wrong word. But chances created the stats say 2.3 per 90 minutes. Other best player behind pepe is 1.9. So yep, could be wrong on big chances, but most chances created per 90 it seems to be right.
https://arseblog.news/2020/02/the-7amkickoff-index-mesut-ozils-stats-a-deep-dive/
if you look at Ozil’s stats, the chances created are increasingly low quality as his expected assists per 90 minutes have collapsed.
Spot on. The most meaningless “statistic” in sport, as it’s incredibly subjective. Watched so many matches where Ozil, in particular, had a bunch of chances created and I thought, “what’d I miss??” Went back and rewatched, and he had created nothing.
@atom.. I personally would love to see Ozil leave the club since it’s getting toxic now. But you can not be selective like this while talking data. It is equivalent to what the journalists do with politicians’/players’ statements. That’s a dirty trick. Read the entire analysis again. The article says that his chances have been low quality but it also explains why and the reason is quite strong. It’s not his fault that he was asked to play on the lines and in his own half. A player like him needs to be in the centre and in the opposition… Read more »
@rohit The data very clearly demonstrates that Ozil’s contribution to the team has increasingly lessened over time – that’s not debatable. You can argue about why that’s happening or make excuses like you’re doing – but the data is what it is.
My take away from Ozil and our team this season is that he has declined + Unai’s style didn’t suit a no.10. However when Unai did bring him back into the team, one improvement I noticed straightaway is that we’re holding on to the ball in the opponents half more. Which is down to Ozil playing better quality/assured passes and knowing how to use spaces in between the lines better. With Arteta this was similar, we looked more lively in the opponent’s half of the pitch with the ball but our forward line pressing off the ball was ineffective with… Read more »
@atom.. but my friend, that’s not how data works. You can not take the context out. If I tell you 5 years from today that Arsenal made huge losses as a business in 2020 – that’s data. it happened because of coronavirus induced lockdown and every other football club was also impacted by it – that’s context. How can we say that data what it is? No. That’s not the correct utilisation of data. The organizations finally realized it that’s why they moved to Big Data because it focuses on the context as well – that’s the fundamental of any… Read more »
With any data there is an element of art to interpreting it. However what is abundantly clear is that those who keep citing how many chances Ozil is creating are ignoring how poor of quality those chances are. By any metric you can use Ozil’s stats have declined dramatically particularly when you consider all of his “peers” he would go up against score more goals and have far more defensive responsibilities than he ever has. Ozil the player is pretty obviously in steep decline – you can infer that from watching him yourself, by the fact manager after manager keeps… Read more »
Of course, it helps your stats if you actually get picked to play….
So, without Ozil, we won the FA Cup. Lovely. Without Ozil, we also lost to Brighton, Spurs and Villa and also dropped points against Leicester. That’s 1 point from a possible 12 and why we also finished in 8th place.
Maybe if he took the pay cut of £43750 per week. £2,275,000 for the year, those 55 jobs (£2M job wage cost) could have been saved.
Also to upset one manager maybe unfortunate but two, there must be an issue.
Ozil said in the interview, along the lines of ‘some concerns weren’t adressed or some questions weren’t answered”. so I guess that does prove his decision right. In all if this we forgot the main culprits. If they sell Arsenal today, they stand to make atleast half a bil from their investment. But for a few extra millions, they have dragged this clubs name into shit. Only club club in the prem to make paycuts, 55 redundancies, what next, sell emirates and start playing in parks. Even totts, with all their debts didn’t resort to this. Kronkes have done nothing… Read more »
Why does everyone forget that Kroenke backed us in the transfer window last summer and made the Pepe acquisition possible?
Would I love to see him back us even more? FUCK YEAH. But it’s undeniable that our problem hasn’t been an inability to spend money. Our problem is HOW we spend that money.
We outspent Spuds, Wolves and others, but the money went to transfers/wages for Ozil, Mhki, Mustafi, etc.
Kroenke hasn’t spent a cent on transfers. Yes he forked out a bomb to buy the club, but that’s an investment with profits in mind that we have all the sudden been paying profits to his offside company each year. Arsenal generates its own cash. Should we sit there and say thankyou Mr Kroenke for allowing us to use the funds the club generates? Arsenal is one of the biggest teams in the world. It was there before Kroenke and will long after he fucks off. Hopefully.
He didn’t back us really.
All they did was loosen the purse strings and brought forward abit of the budget for next season. The gamble of chasing CL football failed big time.
I don’t expect Kroenke to ever back us but he has the responsibility of making sure the club is managed properly. He was complacent when Wenger and Ivan were running things. I don’t know who is at fault between Wenger and Gazidis for piss poor management decisions but Kroenke has the responsibility of not letting his investment decline any further.
This is true. We’ve created many our current problems through contracts. And looking at how things work nowadays; it’s ultimately more costly to sign a guy on a free. The wages are way higher and there’s still the signing on fee. Then because the wages are so high you can’t sell the player and lose them on a free or peanuts in the last year. At least with a player you buy and put on a reasonable contract it is easier to move them on for a similar fee to which you paid initially.
We should recall that at the beginning of the lockdown, Liverpool announced redundancies and were met with an immediate outcry, especially from their own supporters–just like Arsenal. The difference is that the Liverpool owners had the good sense to understand how damaging this would be to the club’s reputation, to the solidarity of the players, and to the link to the supporters. The Kronkes apparently just don’t care about those things.
Exactly. Top post. I’ve been saying this for months.
I totally disagree on this. The only reason players get big big money is that football generates big big money and they are at the center of it. During COVID-19 football didn’t generate any money for 2 to 3 months then much less than usual.
The guy who walks on a rope from the top of one of the tallest building to another has massive talent and more. Nobody paid him a dîme during COVID.
That’s rubbish, the club have had to make 55 staff redundant despite the player pay cut. It’s quite possible if the players didn’t take it 100 staff might have lost their jobs.
Thats rubbish too. If you ask me do we sign Gabriel for 25 million or keep Mustafi, Sokratis, Chambers, Holding, Saliba, Luiz who are already on our books and keep 55 jobs for next season, its a no brainer.
It isn’t rubbish, it’s quite possible that if we don’t make the champions league very soon that even more of the staff could lose their jobs. Arsenal is a football club and results on the pitch make a massive difference to the bottom line
If you glance at his assists and goals from the last two seasons and match that with your observations from watching him play, one trend is clear. Ozil is well past his peak. He is now only fit to play in the Turkish league or MLS. Harsh but true. Willian is a far better option to play behind the forwards.
But we’re a man down when he’s on the pitch. It’s no coincidence that we’re beating the best teams in the league without him. He’s a very talented baller but arteta has non negotiable and I don’t think mesut is up to that unfortunately.
Kroenke, Raul & Co. should have thought about the impact of freezing him out before they instructed Emery and now Arteta to give the player the hot/cold treatment. The way this thing has gotten out of hand is testament to how clueless and incompetent the owner and “hierarchy” (lol) are.
I agree with you again!! 😀
You can find parallels between Emery’s treatment of Ozil and now Mikel’s. Both are the same and only constant here are KSE, Raul & Co. and Ozil. Only bottom line is executives have no strategy and owners have no direction!!
He’s been frozen out because he’s been mostly useless on the pitch for 2/3 years, and gives a truly shit example to his teammates
At this point, the club knows there is no chance of getting shot of him before his contract expires, so there is no reason to freeze him for those reasons. If he was still a good, professional player he would play
Not going to deny our hierarchy and clueless and incompetent. But their mistake was to give him that contract in the 1st place
I’m not saying I want him in the starting 11 but are you seriously suggesting he’s not good enough to make the bench when we’re allowed 5 subs?
If you judge good enough by talent then of course he is – he should be key for us. But judge him by his actual performances these last 3 years then I’d much rather we play Willock, Smith-Rowe, Trae Coyle etc, or with an extra CB or deep lying CM instead. He’s been dreck, even in a solely attacking / creative sense
Also, playing him would totally undermine the collective work rate, responsibility and high fitness levels that Arteta is trying to instil, which we’ve been lacking for so long
Well given the options that we actually had available after the restart, I would have him in the squad. Just my humble opinion though.
If your gonna be the highest player at the club at least put the effort in.
who says he doesn’t put the effort in though. The media? For all we know he’s been training his ass off
Exactly.
If he was training his ass off, like Ceballos the animal, he would be playing. Arteta has frozen out a couple of players, Ceballos, AMN, Guendouzi and all you have to do to get playing time is put your head down and train hard, and you can get back in the squad. Ozil is not training his ass off. In fact he ppints out in the interview, he should be judged on the pitch which I infer to him means games not training. Arteta is all about the training leading to game performance. Bottom line, Ozil no longer has the… Read more »
It’s like hanging around in the flat after your girlfriend has said openly that she doesn’t want you any more and is happy accomodating other men while you sleep in the living room just because you paid the rent for the entire goddamn month. Embarrassing situation. You don’t give this interview if you love Arsenal or the “real people” who work there. Your former teammate is your manager in extremely trying circumstances, do you think this is helping or hindering him? That he says that he doesn’t want to leave is telling – he knows he won’t get minutes here… Read more »
Why is it okay for a club to state their intentions about a player and not okay for the player to do the same?
The situation is not ideal but to pretend that 0zil is solely to blame is unfair. If the club no longer wishes to have him, then sell him or loan or cut your losses.
Tye sad part is tye effect the episode has on the rest of the team.
“Why is it okay for a club to state their intentions about a player and not okay for the player to do the same?” It is ok, but it is also ok for everyone to make their own conclusions about what is going on. “The situation is not ideal but to pretend that 0zil is solely to blame is unfair. “ Sometimes people forget that not his wages are the problem. The problem is what he delivers as a return. Signing up for 350k a week means signing up that you will be a crucial part of the team, that you… Read more »
Capitalism is a b***h. Bring back the socialist salary structure!! 😀
Well, it’s the exact same situation when a club tells a player that it wouldn’t sell him. The player is the girlfriend in this case and the club is the boyfriend. Yet, fans love it. How many of us screamed that we should have forced Persie to stay. How many of us praised the club for showing some cojones when we refused to sell Alexis to Man City? Then we all suddenly start thinking of the player loyalty and ‘they signed a contract. They better respect it.’ What has happened now? Wasn’t it the club that offered him this contract?… Read more »
I dare anyone here to say that if they felt they were unfairly treated by their work, they wouldn’t fight for what they felt was right. I completely agree that this has gone on for way too long and that MO10 should perhaps consider that he might not get the outcome he wants but the longer it goes on, the more it appears that he’s being frozen out / made out to be trouble without just cause. And makes Arsenal look really bad. The fact that Arteta is being drawn into it makes it worse (he’s made a point of… Read more »
He’s fit except when he has an “illness” before having to go up north. No fit young person is as prone to illness as Ozil.
How often has he come out and said he has an illness? Even Arteta in the last few weeks has repeated “back injury” yet here Ozil says he’s been fit. So I would start to question the narrative we’ve been fed (by the club who we know no longer want Ozil there).
You’re fighting a losing battle mate, most people here have already filled in the blanks and decided that ozil is evil. This isn’t even about if he’s good enough or not anymore this is just about slinging mud to justify, not unreasonable, frustration. Nuance is lost today I’m afraid.
I hear you. It’s a shame really because we simply are lacking so much to this story but are being drip fed snippets to make us think one thing that may not even be true (cuz that never happens!!).
But for how many years have we had the “bad back” story ? Or unexplained illnesses? It goes back to the Wenger days, predating the latest contract. Too many games he has missed, some literally, others figuratively, I’m afraid. That may be why people have made up their mind.
Exactly, Ozil had a bad back or Illness whenever we went up North under Wenger, so this isn’t new.
The Sanchez/Ozil contract renewal saga has been without question the most expensive collection of fuck ups in the clubs history.
Rejecting City’s bid for Sanchez – £60m
Swapping him for Mkyh on £200k a week – £15m
Giving Ozil £350k a week for 3.5 years – £63.7m
Total cost to the club Somewhere in the region of – £138.7m!!!
These where obvious errors even at the time, no wonder the club is in serious financial difficulty.
Not wrong with figures. Option 3 no one says does no one ever think Ozil may actually have a bad back and therefore that is why he will sit out contracts. As other clubs who he could sign lesser contracts will know this, about his bad back. Not a metaphor excuse , am actual bad back ,he has play professional since 17 ( similar to Rooney aged 16) and by early 30s he had a lot if wear and tear injuries. Both players fouled a lot , as us there position in team. Sanchez getting paid off and joins inter… Read more »
Surprised by you especially referencing the shirt number
It’s accurate for the time being… unless or until it goes to Willian!
Not my #10 ?
Im not going to be angry if he stays, he is perfectly entitled to and I agree with his point. He has a contract, and there are plenty of occasions where players have to respect their contracts and stay at clubs they would rather leave. But at the same time it just makes me sad it has come to this. I am happy he isnt anywhere near the squad, it is the right choice. I really respect Arteta for standing firm on that, but having to deal with this situation and the questions for another season is just going to… Read more »
Arteta is just following order from Stan, Raul & co.
Actually, that’s the one piece of the puzzle we just don’t know about. It’s been 4 managers where something’s been up. Maybe it’s because the execs tells the managers they can’t play him. Maybe it’s because each of the managers came to the same conclusion. We’ll probably never know.
He’s played for Emery, Freddie and Arteta.
Emery intimated that the decision to drop Ozil came from higher up.
The one thing we can agree on is that we may never know what lies at the heart of this but I think that there’s more to this. I’ve never known a player to be so bad that 4 managers cannot use him! Four?!
It will come out in Ozil’s biography :D, we just have to wait, like we are doing since ages 🙁
Got to laugh with the quote from his agent saying that he’s not leaving this summer and that there is a 90% chance that he will be leaving next year when his contract is up…
id say 100% chance hes leaving next year when his contract is up…. because he won’t be offered a new deal..
Just keep some room for random error!! Who knows Mikel is sacked 10 games into season and new manager comes in and picks him up and Ozil shines beyond recognition 😀 this is a funny world 😀
Ozil will never shine again, he’s done and he knows it.
But he loves Arsenal so, so maybe he’ll stay for free.,…
There are players on the pitch who are worse than Ozil. Willock is not even close to what Ozil does so that means there is another story to this. Was Ozil the only player who didnt agree for paycut? Maybe he was and a reason why Arteta sidelined him. I can imagine Arteta calling a meeting to plead to them about helping the club financial state and Ozil saying No. We don’t know about Arteta much when it come to how he reacts to something like that. But my point is, Ozil can fit into this arsenal squad.
No he can’t. His work ethic is pathetic and every single player has to pull their weight, especially when you’re playing a defensive counter-attacking system. Put him in against Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea where the margins are fine and you have to fight for 90 minutes and we don’t win the game, simple as that.
Do you really think Arteta won’t tell Ozil what he needs to do to get back into the team? It strikes me that Ozil knows exactly why he isn’t playing and this is just another PR episode to make it look like it’s the club’s fault.
And what is naming the player for not accepting a pay cut? I’d call that a PR episode too. Both sides are playing the PR game and contributing to this particular circus. If you’re going to use that language then it needs to be applied equally and without prejudice.
This isn’t exactly Ozil’s first pr episode of trying to make the club or manager look bad. Go back to the Emery days or even his attempt to put Arteta under pressure with his “I’m ready to play” post. He has a very good pr team and very much uses them.
No one’s denying the ozil PR machine, just making the very valid point that the club are also using their own and we, as fans, are pretty clueless to where the truth actually lay.
The truth is that Ozil has now managed to alienate 4 consecutive managers who are concerned first and foremost with winning to the point of freezing him out. What exactly he’s done to do that no one knows as most current managers aren’t willing to take public shots at players as it doesn’t sit well with most. If he were still producing at a world class level I assume those managers would have picked him even with whatever baggage he has. The fact they are freezing him out speaks volumes to where he is as a player at this point.
He can pretty much fit into 99% of any squad on this planet. Only a few clubs – Liverpool, City, PSG, Real, Barca and Juve, etc – would currently have anyone potentially better to at least have on the bench. Arsenal (and by that, I mean the board) are mugging themselves off. If this was happening at Tottenham, I would be laughing my balls off. Stan and The Stooges are an embarrassment – and Ozil’s stance is only re-enforcing how clueless they are.
Name a single top team in Europe that plays a true number 10 without defensive responsibilities. That tells you how many clubs Ozil fits into these days.
Well, hes not a true number 10 but Messi is absolved of defensive duties. I should be clear that I’m not saying Ozil is comparable, but top teams that have a genuine start tend to appreciate what they do bring rather than negatively focus on what they dont. Robben for Bayern very rarely tracked back as another example. Play Ozil in a 3 man midfield alongside a ball carrier and a destroyer and you’ll get more than your money’s worth. Try to turn him into a work-horse and you lose every time. There are plenty of ways to get product… Read more »
Messi also scores 50 goals a year. If Ozil were putting up 20 assists & 15 goals a year then we would play him but the reality is he has declined quite a bit.
Exactly, Atom. Ozil only offers ball retention and technical security to Arsenal now. Ozil’s goals and assists are the same as any average midfielder or a deep lying midfielder which doesnt make sense considering that he is a liability defensively.
So isn’t this enough reason for ozil to want to move to a different team that will play to his strength since arsenal can’t do it anymore but no he wants to stay put and collect pay without doing the job.Rubbish
Oh but of course, those great well known defenders De Bruyne, Messi, Modric and Neymar Junior.
And anyway – who have we got as a replacement? Ceballos? He belongs to Real; is he going to be here next season?
Willock? Fine, if you’re happy with mid table.
Whichever way you want to dress it up, Ozil is still the best attacking midfielder we have – by a country mile.
DeBruyne is the closest to a number 10 but has defensive duties (everyone does with Pep) & scored 13 PL goals to go with his 20 assists. Messi is a nominal forward at this point but also scores 50 goals to go with his 20-30 assists. Neymar is a forward while Modric is a deep lying play maker who still has to defend. Literally no one plays a non goal scoring true number 10 without defensive responsibilities anymore. I think the real question you need to answer is not if Ozil is the best pure number 10 (non-scoring and no… Read more »
Really? If Arteta doesn’t want him, as your suggesting, why hasn’t he made it public? Why, if it’s his decision, is he letting this unhealthy situation rumble on and on and on?
I’ll tell you why – because it’s NOT Arteta’s decision, it’s Kroenke’s. Mesut Ozil is out of the team for refusing to take a pay cut without sufficient assurances of the board’s integrity – and yet there are still idiots on this site who blame him for the subsequent job losses he wanted assurances about.
Ozil cant be mentioned in the same breadth as De Bryune. KDB is the midfielder Ozil wishes he were even at his peak. KDB is an all rounder, he can press, win the ball back, dribble and shoot. Ozil cant do any of the above with even 50 percent of the proficiency of KDB. Dont even mention Neymar or Messi who are on a different planet with their goals and assists. The transfer market is a fairly accurate barometer for the commercial worth of a player now and Ozil is only fit for a free transfer to an inferior league.… Read more »
*breath
Dear God, I fucking give up.
I was being asked a question about big club Number 10’s who defend……?!
I wasn’t comparing Ozil to De Bruyne……?!
FFS……?
If never been a big fan of Mesut. But if he isnt leaving we might as well keep an open room in the squad for him. To be honest, we have been playing some extremely boring football for two years now. Having a player with Ozils qualities might make our games more interesting to watch.
Our alternatives for his position are Joe Willock and Smith Rowe. Both youngsters, who have about 30% of the talent Ozil had at a similar age.
Hard work is important, but so is being a good footballer.
I suspect he will play if he is still here. For me the club has taken a decision to get him off the books so are freezing him out and hoping they can make him want to leave. If it doesn’t work then I think he will be allowed to work his way back into the team. From there it will be up to him to prove he is fit, following Arteta law and can make a contribution on the pitch
He didn’t make the squad in the FA Cup Final – what makes you think Stan and The Stooges will back down now?
We amplify Ozil creativity and rightly so but we don’t talk about the chances created against us because of his inability to defend. To me, that aspect negates his creativity. Create one and give away two isn’t good enough. It’s a team game. He’s the easiest player to take out of a game. We rarely see him in big games that require efforts more than skills.
But we can’t compare Ozil “at a similar age” to those players. Ozil NOW is what’s relevant, and I don’t think he brings any more to the team than those players do today. Sure many will disagree, but I’d much rather have ESR or Willian filling that central role than Ozil.
Maybe give him some video scouting to do from home.
To be fair, there’s a more expansively quoted presentation of the interview on the espn website, and much of what he has to say about how the owners pushed through the pay cuts chimes with the criticisms of how they handled the redundancies at the club. I know it’s hard to sympathize with a ‘worker’s rights’ stance taken by millionaires, but when your employers are billionaires, I guess it’s all relative on principle. I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to the workers. And I wonder how much, if any pressure was put on Arteta not to play… Read more »
I believe you missed out on a few crucial quotes about fighting for his place and the wage cut that paints a different picture. Mesut Ozil on his Arsenal future: “My position is clear. I’m here through to the last day of our agreement and I’ll give everything I have for this club. Things have obviously been difficult but I love Arsenal, I love to work there, I love the people in the club — the real people, those I’ve been with for a long time — and I love London, it’s my home.” I showed in the past that… Read more »
Pretty sure if it was agreed that he’d be moving on this season, he would have been very fondly remembered and respected for the great years he had at the club (with the exception of last year perhaps). Maybe not quite a club legend but near. I think him staying and doing nothing this season while getting 350k a week is going to affect that
let him stay. the problem seems to be the board
When we refinanced the debt on the ground we should have extended it for another £18m.
If you’re not picked, even for the squad – let alone the team – and are in effect frozen out. If you are not wanted then – unless your utterly stupid to the point of blindness and Ozil isn’t – then the there must be something else persuading you to stay. There is and it’s called Money. The only solution to this is to offer Ozil on a free transfer to a Club who may offer him a two year deal. That two year del could cover what he will l earn here in one year – and may be… Read more »
The problem is Ozil is so far up his own backside he thinks he in infallible. He pissed off his German teammates and I understand some of his current team as well. In my view he is a selfish greedy hasbeen and I just hope at the end of next season no other team of any value turn their backs on him.
he says he aint going nowhere
Good for him. I would too, if I was under a fat contract to a board of directors who were trying to break me by refusing to allow me to do my job.
Fuck this board.
There’s even a crazier alternative if yours doesn’t work out.
Lets assume Ozil is due to earn next season approx 350k x 52 weeks = 18mil.
The club should sit him down and say we’re will to pay him off 10mil now to leave. If Ozil and his people can find another club willing to pay him 8mil a year, that’s the same thing or even more then 8 mil and he’ll be profiting. We save 8 mil at the end of the day.
Also surely all our dodgy BFF super agents can help persuade(con) another club to pay him 8 mil a year.
“When a player wants to leave and the club says no, the player must accept it unless they find a solution together.”. Yeah right, because that’s the way it works.
Isn’t that exactly how it is working though? He’s still there getting paid…
“When a player wants to leave……”.
So conversely, the club wants the player to leave, the player said no. The club must accept it.
Ask William “The Solution” Gallas about that. Absolute expert and legend.
Didn’t he tell Chelski that if they don’t let him go and he is selected for another game, he would start to deliberately score own goals? At least that’s what was reported back then.
Man, I would have loved to see that. Towering header by Gallas right into the own goal, pushing down Terry and Lampard in the process. No foul though, cause you can’t foul your own teammate.
An interesting tidbit from the interview is that he wasn’t the only one who rejected the pay cut in the end (although his is the most high profile name to be made public). Does Blogs have any information on who else refused the pay cut? It is a horrible situation, but I still have faith in our Head Coach. Arteta attributes Ozil’s omission to “pure football reasons” but I am somewhat sceptical of this, especially since he was one of our better players just before the league was suspended (he started all 10 of our PL games under Arteta before… Read more »
Maybe his definition of “football reasons” in this matter, goes beyond the football *pitch* – and onto the politics, finances and excel sheets of the football *companies*. One could argue that everything that goes on at Arsenal FC is “because of football”. 🙂
?
That’s a stretch…
Yeh he’s looking to bring down the capitalist system from the inside, like a true revolutionary socialist.
Unfortunately he isn’t. Seems the board is wrestling/amassing control from all over and not playing Ozil is easily a direct instruction from them (board)
This situation is awful and should have been resolved long ago. Mesut needs to go, quicker the better and he has very good PR team. But make no mistake, responsible party in this shitshow is club and our heads of football club. Club can’t and shouldn’t expect Mesut to give up money we owe him, than we have done nothing from our side to protect his value. And club can solve it and for me this article basicly confirms it. Mesut says that leaving from club should be agreement. We gave Mesut that contract, and lets not erase history, most… Read more »
“I love the people in the club — the real people.”
Thank you for your interest in our affairs.
55 real people were made redundant, so….
“I love the people (read: money) in the club – the real people (read: absolute stacks of money).”
When he refused the pay cut, he not only went against the clubs wishes but also against the manager who was actively involved in getting the players on board. This was always going to end up this way and Ozil and his handlers had to know this.
Obviously yes. And his pay cut alone would have saved us a ton of money – but sadly that’s the right he has due to his contract. Those things work both ways. Sadly we remember lots of times where we got the short end of the stick. Players leaving mid-contract because they got “homesick” and such. At the money Özil is pocketing, he’d be half crazy not to just play his strongest hand. He obviously feels he’s at home in London, there will be plenty who would still pay him to play after his contract with us runs out… and… Read more »
The club said that the paycuts were to help save jobs. They then sacked 55 people after most of the team and the manager took said pay cuts.
So…
So it’s Ozil’s fault. Had he taken the cut there wouldn’t be 55 sacked.
They can’t find £3m for 55 support staff but they have £100k pw for Willian? And you still want to find fault with Ozil.
Come on!
I doubt they told the players that they would never let any staff go. They probably told them that cuts were imminent unless they took a salary reduction.
Let’s say (God forbid) the situation doesn’t improve in 24 months and the clubs finances were a mess. Would they be betraying the players by letting some staff go THEN simply because they had made an arrangement at the start of the pandemic?
“I doubt they told the players that they would never let any staff go.”
Not even remotely close to what I wrote!
In relation to the rest, they didn’t streamline, they got rid of an ENTIRE department that is integral to how teams are built. Unless you think scouting has no place at all in football during a time when, because of financial pressures, clubs will have to be creative in unearthing gems to help save money on expensive super agents…
Have it even crossed our minds that more people might have lost their job (and perhaps much earlier than recently) but for the cuts agreed by most of the players? Perhaps that sacrifices made by those players actually had a positive impact than being said in this so called interview (I see it more like a Purley opportunistic PR gimmick). Time will eventually reveal all.
Well..they didn’t guarantee them a job forever. They kept these employees on for the entire season (thanks to those pay cuts) even though there is no longer a job for them for the foreseeable future. If you want to use that narrative that Ozil was correct in not taking a cut then I could counter and say that Ozil’s part of the cut would’ve kept the staff on longer.
I didn’t say Ozil was right not to take a pay cut (for clarity, that would be Ozil and whoever else didn’t because it apparently wasn’t just him). What I’m saying is the club isn’t free from scrutiny for its own behaviour. And to make it seem like the reason the job cuts and Ozil not taking a pay reduction are directly linked is naive and disingenuous at best. KSE has the ability, if it chooses, to invest, provide a loan or simply GIVE money to Arsenal if it so chose so Ozil’s actions whilst an inconvenience, wouldn’t do that… Read more »
KSE has enough money to pay ozils wages for 300 years
And yet some people are putting the job losses on Ozil.
Thick. As. Shit.
Probably… More like, you’re most probably right.
So now you’re blaming Ozil for the job losses…….?!
You do know that Stan Kroenke is a billionaire EIGHT times over? And what would have been required to keep those people in their jobs is pocket change to him……….?!
I’m just wondering who you’re going to blame for Kroenke’s corruption after Ozil has left….
This is a big test for Arteta. It’s clear now he’s just following orders from above to force Ozil out, it’s not working. He now needs to come out and put this bed one way or another.
Our board is a shambles.
Is that really clear? If Arteta thought Ozil could win us games, you don’t think he’d make the lineup?
He seemed to think so pre lockdown. It’s an extreme change of opinion since, seemingly based around the pay cut saga. My point is more that we need a definitive statement from the club or Arteta now on this.
Arteta played Ozil because a) there was no better number 10 to assist our forwards but now Willian is here and he is superior. b) probably arteta was putting ozil in the shop window with the deluded hope that someone will buy him – no hope of that as no top club will even partially pay Ozil’s wages as he cant make their first team anymore.
This whole thing is so frustrating because no one actually knows what the problem is/was (unless I’ve missed it?). Admitting there was no injury keeping him out of the manager’s plans, he said he was ready to fight for a place, and made it clear he does not want to leave. This is confusing as well, I would be annoyed if the club I was meant to be playing for kept saying “He’s not playing because of a back injury” if that wasn’t the case. Even if I didn’t know why the club wasn’t playing me I think I’d state… Read more »
He has just very cleverly called the club’s bluff. They are the ones freezing him out – not the other way around. All I see is our – STILL -best creative midfielder, who we are paying a ridiculous Wenger and Gazidis created and Kroenke approved salary – refused the opportunity to play, because he refused to take a pay cut for a lying, dishonest board, who themselves have clearly imposed instructions to the manager not to pick him. This whole mess is the creation and the continued farce of the Arsenal so-called hierarchy. The player himself, although clearly below his… Read more »
He seems to be saying that, even if a loan offer comes in, and the two clubs share his full wage, he won’t go. He loves Arsenal and London so much that he’ll stay for a season of little to no football just to be here.
That’s quite a mad position for a bloke who presumably does love playing the game to take.
Proof that he has no interest in playing at all.
You need no more proof than that. The non negotiables and the SPORTING reason.
Istanbul Baseksehir – That’s the solution for everyone involved.
They are the Turkish champions, will offer champions league football to ozil, ozil loves turkey, turkey loves Erdogan, erdogan loves Baseksehir.. I mean there are just too much synergies in there.. Erdogan won’t have any problem in funding ozil’s salary either..
No, I think Erdogan supports Basiktas. I fact, I believe he was a reserve goalkeeper for them in his youth. Anyway, your point about Ozil going to Turkey is well taken. But he seems to be saying no to it.
https://m.dw.com/en/istanbul-basaksehir-turkeys-new-football-champions-with-strong-erdogan-links/a-54406370
If arsenal PAy up his contract, like utd did for Alexis, ozil will take andhe will join them in Turkey
Only people who don’t know how big corporations work fail to realise that Ozil’s position in Arsenal became untenable (not for footballing reasons) when he rejected the paycut.
Maybe he was right after all.
The problems with Ozil predate the pay proposition. Two things are constant, Ozil and the club ownership. Different managers, different team formations, different opponents, different comps… we can surmise the issue is either of the two constants.
A thoroughly unlikable individual.
It’s ‘all about me’ with Mr Ozil!
Probably as far from the truth as you an possibly be, Mesut looks after his friends and family and does an enormous amount of charity work. He also has a social conscience and can be stubborn. He’s definitely not going anywhere so the club need to sort themselves out, he can be a very useful player for certain games. Also, Mikel has never said anything bad about him and in one interview said he couldn’t comment on the situation, if Mesut hadn’t been trying he would surely have cared him out like he did others. I think I this is… Read more »
Except I’m pretty sure it’s not constructive dismissal if he’s still employed by the club and picking up 350k per week. whether you like him or hate him, I think every arsenal fan is sick to their hole of this situation and wants it to be over
He’s full of double standards and his charity is a charade. He also masqueraded with a particularly unlikable leader of Turkey. He’s a phony.
I think we shall find, in the fullness of time and to this club’s detriment, is that it is, in fact, all about Stan.
He’s well within his rights to stay and pick up his wages. But that doesn’t mean we have to respect it when he’s not wanted. Respect is earned on and off the pitch and whatever he’s doing, it’s not up to the standard expected of him. If he wants respect, he should probably go somewhere else and actually play football instead of crippling us with his salary.
“…unless a solution can be found together”
As much as I want Ozil to leave, for his sake as well as the team’s, I have no problem with this stance. Like he says, players don’t get to unilaterally decide to leave a team in the middle of a contract, so why should a team?
Make it worth his while, Arsenal, and let’s try to get this done.
I am very surprised to read several comments who seem to believe that Arteta follow orders from above to freeze Özil. Do you really think Arteta is really so weak? Time will tell, of course, but so far he makes an impression of a person why is not afraid to speak his mind and pursue his goals in his own way. Amd I the only one seeing the similarities between Özil’s and Guendouzi’s situation? Arteta has promised everybody a chance and clean sheet, and Mesut has been given that. But it is not hard to imagine that what our manager… Read more »
Mikel is the Head Coach, ot even the manager. He’s not weak but he has no authority. As he is the only person that anyone respects, the suits should be careful if they’re overriding his opinion. He may be discreet and not cause trouble but if he decides he’s had enough they’d be up shit reek without a paddle.
I’ve got news for you. With Kroenke in charge of this football club, we already are…
It’s a really odd sentiment that a huge number of fans seem to share when it comes to Arteta. When we talk about players the club brought in that Arteta has publicly said he scouted and wanted (Soares, Mari) and even now there are stories about Arteta personally requesting Willian, a lot of fans complain about how Raul/Edu are ruining the club via their transfers. Arteta has never struck me as a weak willed man, so I find it surprising how many fellow Arsenal fans view him as one.
Arteta plays ozil despite Freddie comments,ozil missedso many matches under Wenger on the pretense of being sick, arteta agreed pay cut himself thinking about the team, ozil is the highest paid players but not the best in terms of output, just look at what Debrunny ,Davis silver are producing at mancity justifying their salary, ozil is not even close he is more concerns about politics, is he the only Muslim football stars? Please read between the lines you will understand the guy is done for
Well, I think I am one of those you mention. I do believe that Raul and Edu are ruining the club, and I don’t blame Arteta, nor I expect him to drive transfers, simply because of his short time atthe club.
At the same time, I firmly believe that Arteta has full control over the squad. I believe that Özil’s and Matteo’s exiles are completely his decision.
Setting aside transfers- Ozil & Gendouzi are 2 players with a history of problems (Ozil’s more behind the scenes) as Gendouzi’s former manager has talked about how bad his attitude is while Ozil has now been frozen out by 4 consecutive managers. Your point on wages is spot on with him – if he were producing no one would care what Ozil makes. It’s only b/c his play has fallen off a cliff along with whatever he’s doing behind the scenes to get this many managers to decide he’s not worth the trouble that his wages matter.
This brush tarring myth that Ozil’s play has completely capitulated would be easier to stomach if Arteta had dropped him after a game or two. But he was used in a gradually improving side for more or less every game by Arteta up until lockdown. Even under Emery – who thought Lucas Torreira was an attacking midfielder – Ozil was no worse than any of our other attacking midfielders in a team where, thanks to the cluelessness of the manager, none of the players had a clue where they should have been or what they should have been doing. Under… Read more »
You theory will be very interesting next season if we struggle enough (and with Mustafi and Luiz still on the books, that is not as fanciful as it may seem) for the board to start the old ‘the manager has our full backing’ spiel – and Ozil is still conspicuous by his continued absence.
He claimed he has done much for Arsenal, he has clearly lost it, if he had put so much effort on the football pitch am sure we wouldn’t be discussing him, think about it,, why are nobody bidding for Ozil except in Turkey or China, he is done for he is just bidding his tie to make money. Not interested in arsenal the writing is clearly on the wall
It’s pure cognitive dissonance. They love Ozil as a player (despite his performances, statistics, attitude etc). But they also have to respect Arteta as a manager given what he’s achieved so far. So the only way they can reconcile Arteta leaving Ozil out is with this nonsensical ideal that Arteta is somehow being forced to drop Ozil.
Even after recent events, it seems that you still have a lot to learn about the nature of our board and our majority shareholder.
You will…..
Loan him out pay him off I don’t care, I’m sick of him and his attitude no-one in
my arsenal supporting life has annoyed me as much as him. Such a talented player but cares more about politics and money than doing his job to the highest standard. He’ll always be remembered by me as the invisible man.
I was a fan of Ozil as player before he joined arsenal
Cant stand the sight of him now
we simply cannot start the season with his baggage if we are to mount a serious bid for glory next season
get out of our club
? He’s out! He’s gone! Thanks to your kindly old Uncle Stan, he’ll never pull on another Arsenal shirt. There, satisfied? ?
But I Learn his team mates said he doesn’t care how you feel about him. Is this the confirmation?
The player is on contract for another year, and does not want to leave the club. There are lots of games and competitions which would require the use of as many players as possible to minimize injuries and keep the first team players fresh. If he’s fit let the management swallow their pride and make use of him. It’s as simple as that. It’s not like Mesut Özil is anything of a “deadwood” yet, anyway.
That’s fair enough to say but it’s seems to me with him not taking the pay cut his political stances his behaviour all round has led to a divide between him and the club and most importantly his teammates. It’s got to be pretty bad for Arteta not to pick him. Arteta has massive respect for him and wanted to prove everyone wrong but Ozil must not be buying into team ethic hard work, working for each other etc. All Ozil is doing is proving his previous detractors right but leaching a living off the club but what does it… Read more »
Of course just like Sanchez to did at utd and got paid by off to leave for inter. Utd owners jus added on a bit more in the debt line.. as ours will have to do and ozil will leave for Turkey. But like Sanchez he has a contract offered to him by the club.
Won’t happen mate. It’s too late. You can thank Stan for that. And you’re right, in all probability, we could be up shit creek again this Christmas. I for one can’t see Willian and Willock smashing it. They’re not good enough.
Don’t underestimate this pricks ability to sabotage the efforts of another new manager. we didn’t really care when it was emery but we can’t sit back and make excuses for Ozil if he is trying to pull this shit with Mikel now too. Mikel looks too special and the improvements made are so promising. I don’t know how anyone can still think Mesut cares about our club. Lets get rid before another promising season is derailed bu his nonsense
And what kind of ‘shit’ is he trying to ‘pull’….?
1: Asking the board to be more specific about their (then) proposed pay cut?
2: Tweeting that he’s ready to play.
3: Sitting underneath a brolly.
4: Spending time with his wife and new born son.
Well, that’s quite the crime sheet. Quite simply, the man must go! Oh, wait……..
It’s fascinating how one player can make a whole club look stupid.
Arsenal gave him the contract, they have to suck it up.
Hopefully Ozil gets a runout in the Community Shield.
It’s Kroenke who has made this club look stupid.
A lot of my mates who support other clubs are siding with Ozil in this – and have said that they do so in addition to being fully aware of the fact that Ozil’s absence will definitely be to the detriment of the club’s Premiership performances next season. They are also unanimous in their believe that Kroenke is destroying Arsenal, little by little.
Just a shame a few more of this club’s supposed ‘support’ can’t see this – but hey ho…?
He’s perfectly entitled to sit out his contract, it’s a contract after all. I do wonder if when he’s 72 and looking back at his career he regrets not being on the pitch for years. The money is good but surely he has plenty in the bank and would be better off playing somewhere and creating memories, he’d still be pulling in as much in a week as most of us earn in a good year.
He’s more interested in the money than playing football. He’s cool. A creator who had only 2 assists the whole season and pocketing 350k a week. Were’re in Bogarde situation. Keep him out of the team, take the number 10 from him and give it to a proper number 10 and let him take his money and rust on the bench
I wonder if we could take the number 10 away? Good idea. I feel that as this would impact the value of his personal ‘brand” it would give him the kick up the arse he needs to move in.
Theoretically, the number 10 could be in his contract, but if not, I think the club has every right to do that.
Not sure what would that mean for selling shirts though.
how many 10 shirts will be sold this year? Changing his number won’t result in fewer! You’re right about the contractual issue though. I guess we’ll find out when the new seasons team no’s are out.
Exactly. Even fans of Ozil wont buy the number 10 shirt this year knowing his shelf life at the club is limited. Giving the number 10 to Willian makes sense, it was his old number at Chelsea and he will likely play at the tip of our midfield behind the forwards.
If the number 10 is in his contract, you could probably not name him for the PL squad, then I assume you could give the number 10 to another member of the squad.
No point in going over all the old ground about who is to blame for this situation, but it’s surely a warning. Giving a player staggering wages – far beyond what anyone else in the team receives – is a very bad idea unless that player delivers from Day 1, and keeps on delivering! For a variety of reasons, Ozil hasn’t and is clearly “persona non grata” at the club. Assuming we don’t play him, the only way to get his massive wage off the books is to buy out the last part of his contract – paying for nothing… Read more »
“Paying him” is the exact opposite of “taking him off the books”.
I think you should recognise that there is a difference between club owners and football team supporters. I support Arsenal not the owners of Arsenal.
I’m very much of the opinion that it is best for Ozil to leave the club now. It’s time to move on. Even if he’s paid off too.
I do however completely agree with his position on not accepting the salary reduction. Subsequent events have proved that he was right to hold his ground.
His contributions to charity cannot be doubted and I think that he is a good egg, therefore I will not take a toxic attitude towards him if he does choose to stay and honour the contract that he was fairly awarded.
Fine, send him to the reserves and let him train like he’s in a fu**in bootcamp. Until he pukes and then a few hours more. Make him regret that decision every single day. What a joke of a character.
Not sure about England at all, but in my country a first league club’s coach wanted to ban 2 players whose attitude he judged to be “disruptive for the team” from training with the first league squad and had them train with the amateur team of the club, which played in the 3rd or 4th league, while still receiving full wages as agreed in their contracts. The two players sued against that with the support of the pro footballer’s union and a court ruled that their professional contract entitles them to receive “professional level training”, because otherwise the measure set… Read more »
Our reserves train in the same facilities as our first team, as far as I know, so that won’t work.
In the time it took you to write that post, another £200 of Kroenke’s Contract went into Ozil’s bank account.