Mesut Ozil, far and away the best-paid player at Arsenal, has only featured in two of his club’s nine matches in 2019, with one appearance coming from the bench. The team has also struggled for results in that same period. Regardless of the reason behind this lack of involvement, Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil problem needs a solution and fast.
Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil Problem Hurting Both Player and Club
Tweet Heard Round the World
Following Arsenal’s humbling 1-0 defeat to BATE Borisov in the Europa League, out of favour playmaker Mesut Ozil sent out a controversial tweet.
‘When you start supporting a football club, you don’t support it because of the trophies, or a player, or history, you support it because you found yourself somewhere there; found a place where you belong.’ ?? || #DennisBergkamp pic.twitter.com/kKM8kDhm8T
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) February 15, 2019
While on the surface this just seems like a player trying to inspire the fanbase after an embarrassing loss, when taken in context it seems much more than that. Unai Emery has hardly selected the former German international in his squads, regardless of opposition or competition.
This has sparked debate as to whether or not the manager, or club as a whole, wish to keep Ozil in north London. When keeping this possibility in mind, the tweet reads as a clear message from player to club: I’m here to stay.
Controversial Contract
Ozil is currently on £350,000 per week or just over £18 million per season. One would think that any club willing to throw that sort of money at a player would have a vested interest in seeing him play.
The fact that he isn’t playing suggests the current regime is not so keen on that contract. But then why did Arsenal offer Ozil that sort of money?
According to Arseblog’s Andrew Mangan, Arsenal’s current chief negotiator, Huss Fahmy, had nothing to do with the Ozil contract. Neither did head of football Raul Sanllehi, managing director Vinai Venkatesham or even the recently departed Sven Mislintat.
Former chief negotiator Dick Law negotiated the deal, with both former chief executive Ivan Gazidis and former manager Arsene Wenger giving their approval. So, in other words, the only party who approved the contract and is still at the club is Mesut Ozil.
Showdown?
When viewed in context, it is difficult not to interpret the tweet as anything but a statement of intent from the player. He has over two years remaining on his mammoth contract, and he intends to see it out at the Emirates.
Meanwhile, by marginalizing the player, the club likely wish to force a transfer away in order to avoid either continually paying the player or buying Ozil’s contract out and losing tens of millions of pounds in the process.
This is a high-stakes showdown between two powerful entities. One would think that a football club would be able to easily impose its will on a single player. But, this is the modern world of football.
Footballers are no longer just footballers, they are a brand in and of themselves. Mesut Ozil is no different and his 23.8 million followers on Twitter, 31 million followers on Facebook and 18.7 million followers on Instagram prove just how powerful his brand is right now.
A Solution is Necessary
Not having the club’s most valuable (or at least most expensive) asset on the pitch is not a good situation for Arsenal. Not only are they losing some quality on the pitch, they are also losing tonnes of money each week and getting nothing in return.
Especially for a club languishing outside the Champions League, this is a very dangerous situation financially. However, it is also one without a clear solution.
The player seems happy to wait out his mega-contract and the club seems unwilling to allow him to do so. So, it would appear that Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil problem will remain until one or both parties soften their position.
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