As usual the issue of how much Mesut Ozil earns at Arsenal has been brought back into the headlines. Okay we all know that at 31 years old the German is nearing the end of his career, and the stats are very clear that his ability to score and assist for the Gunners has been greatly reduced in the last few years.
The former Arsenal striker Adrian Clarke believes that Ozil has been much more effective since the arrival of Mikel Arteta at the Emirates. “He’s a much more effective player in an Arteta team than he was in either team Emery let behind and certainly the one that Freddie Ljungberg picked. He never included Ozil, or hardly ever,” Clarke told The Chronicles Of A Gooner Podcast.
“To get the best out of Ozil you need the team to be brave in possession to make those forward passes through the lines. Under Ljungberg that confidence was just gone, it had evaporated, and under Emery as well.
“Under Arteta there’s more confidence. The fluency is not quite there but once it does come, I think we’ll see more of Mesut. I’m a huge fan of his.
“Technically he’s outstanding and I like his movement. He is hard working, even though people don’t think that, he moves around a great deal.”
So Clarke obviously admires the German midfielder, and he thinks that Ozil wouldn’t get so much criticism if he earned the same as our other top players. “If he was earning a third of what he’s earning, I don’t think there’d be many quibbles from fans, it’s only the fact the contract is what it is, and people are thinking, ‘does he provide value for money?’ It is what it is,”
“We want to see him score more goals and creating more assists like he used to, but we’re looking at a player who, and we have to be honest with ourselves here, peak Ozil is gone.
“He’s not in his prime anymore, we’re looking at a player approaching almost veteran stage.
“We have to understand that as well I think. For the short term we really on him but one of the big goals behind the scenes will be, ‘right, who can we get in the long term to play that role for us?’.”
In some ways he is right, Ozil is overly critized now that his powers are waning, and we certainly need a top class replacement, but would us Arsenal fans be more lenient with him if he was only earning say, 150,000 GBP a week?
Ozil’s salary, to many fans, though not to the club, is a red herring. Most fans everywhere and of all clubs care ONLY what a player is consistently either producing OR not producing on the pitch As such , I have long thought Ozil a virtual passenger in our team and would think likewise were he paid just tuppence a week. The end result of his being bone idle and not assisting or hardly ever scoring would remain, depressingly, the same.
That being said though, OF COURSE his ludicrous salary is damaging to our clubs ability to find a replecement for him AND for many other areas of our team that has holes.
These are two separate matters; how fans think and how the money men who run the club think and we need the intellect to be able to distinguish one from the other.
This does NOT mean that some fans are not deeply concerned with the clubs finances, of course a number of us are. But we also know that to Kroenke , should he ever show the slightest interest in the club, apart from as a financial asset in his portfolio, he could if he wished, inject back much of the money he has “stolen” these last 12 years, albeit in “legal” and cleverly disguised financial cons.
The greater, by far, and more relevant question is not Ozil at all but HOW are we ever going to wriggle free from Kroenkes deadly and dishonest grip around our clubs throat!
Well said Jon….Ozil’s salary isn’t helping Arsenal considering we are strapped for cash or rather Kroenke wont out his hand in his pocket more….and like you say Ozil has been a virtual player in the team. I cant believe Arteta is that stupid not to realise that Ozil is a dead weight in the team when we need all 11 players to fight…the sooner he leaves the better but all he will do is run down his contract because he would never get the same wages elsewhere except perhaps China!
Interesting point raised by Adrian Clarke regarding the workrate issue that seems to bring more argument and debate than the earnings. So if a respected fledgling journalist and ex Arsenal Player says it, it makes fools of all the posters that are forever criticising Ozil on this. Effectiveness? That’s a fair debate.Workrate? Never. Some should stick to playing bowls when they obviously know far less than they believe.And still are unable to answer why, if Ozil was so workshy and bone-idle, does a much respected Mikel Arteta continue to play him every game? Still waiting for an answer on this.
Phil, you will not get a reply from Jon, because he won’t accept the “premise” you describe!!!
Jon, have you included Tapscott and Skirton in your article regarding fans dislike?
Ozil’s salary was negotiated by the club and his agent. They came up with that figure. As I understand it, the hierarchy were aware of his power to assist the commercial arm of the club was possibly greater than his continued effectiveness over the 5 years of the contract as a player.
I am not completely won over by Ozil; many others are big fans. The club have worked out that his salary is worth it even if his performance is not to the required standard often enough in my opinion.
Auba is apparently asking a king’ ransom to stay. Is that greed, or a belief that he is worth it in the same way that Ozil was awarded his contract? Does he feel like an Arsenal man or is he purely a football mercenary?
With the world facing such unprecedented difficulties and families facing such uncertain financial futures I find the prospect of discussing whether Ozil or any other mega rich football player’s earnings are worth it as puke making. No football player is worth anything like what is on offer today.
SueP, you have said it as it is and I so much love your last sentence. That is why I think we should get as much as we can get for PEA if he is asking for more than 250/280k. We are not a club that should be paying that much for a player and from what I read when Ozil was been linked to Fenebash, (13m/yr) I don’t think he is on the amount that has been quoted here an there. In this regard, do anyone know if any of city players in last 3 season and current Liverpool players on 300k to 350k per week. If none, the more reason we “should have never”and should never pay any player that sum.
What a wise and humane post Sue P! Ozil wilL continue to divide Gooner opinion for a maximaum of 15 months now but in games to be played before June ’21 he could well have ALREADY played into his last ever dozen, or fewer, Arsenal games already and how glad that would make me and many others, if only we could be SURE of it.
“We want to see him score more goals and creating more assists like he used to, but we’re looking at a player who, and we have to be honest with ourselves here, peak Ozil is gone”
I’ve been singing this statement for the past two seasons that I got tired of saying it.
To the guys who constantly criticize and pick on everything about Ozil and the guys who constantly keeps saying he’s still a top class player, y’all deceiving yourselves.
I dropped the expectations long ago, I have nothing with how my h he earns, he never forced anyone or blackmailed anyone into paying him that amount.
His previous performances got him that raise, he got the raise because he negotiated well and the club wanted to keep him.
So I don’t expect him to ever go back to peak Ozil.
I don’t know how many times I’ll mention the fact that every player gets to a point where they start dropping performances and how many times I explained the term “Late Bloomer/Late Peak”, “Early Bloomer/Late Peak”, “Early Bloomer/Early Peak”….
Ozil falls into the last category of players.
The best of Ozil is gone, it’s not his fault he falls into that category, it’s nature at work.
Ozil already made his mark on the footballing world very early in his age, and he peaked and declined early.
That’s that.
It’s criminal to keep expecting him to score and assist every weekend when we all know he’s past his peak.
And Yes if he only he doesn’t earn even up to 200k, fans would STFU and leave him alone, but then everyone and their cats keep picking on him and keep complaining, whining, and moaning about his performances and wanting to see his best when he’s past it.
It’s like trying to force a horse with a bad back to take you up a mountain deep in the cold.
I think fans need to drop the shenanigans and just bear it all till his contracts runs out.
The thing is Eddie, there have been far less effective players this season than Ozil. And let’s not forget he wasn’t in the team for most of the time Emery was still in charge. Does Pepe get the stick Ozil does despite being inconsistent and indifferent with his performances? Same with Lacazette? The whole defence prior to Arteta joining. Xhaka? Guendouzi?
Some just can’t admit that Ozil has performed so much more consistently since Arteta took over, as have most of the players. But their own dislike of the player clouds their judgement when workrate is mentioned and they continually embarrass themselves while not being able to argue with facts and statements such as from Adrian Clarke
His salary is what it is but is he worth £100,000pw more than our next highest earner? Not to me
Is Pepe worth his salary? Not yet
Xhaka etc worth theirs? Unlikely
To me, Özil was never worth a contract of that kind. Five years at that time in his career was silly. 3 or 4 years would have been far more sensible. Pinning down the likes of a true emerging talent to 5 years makes more sense on the playing front
I can’t blame Ozil for his salary- I blame the club. His earnings will always divide opinion because however hopeless his team mates are, they are a whacking £200,000pw on average worse off than him and quite frankly are no worse/better in their on pitch performances That is my bug bear.
It is not in any way a personal attack on him -I’m sure he is a smashing bloke and good luck to him
As long high performing players don’t get similar wages to that Ozil gets, it’ll always be an issue when negotiating new contracts. At his age, he’ll never improve. Ozil supporters are just wasting our energy. Get Martinelli in that position, and Arsenal will start tickling
Top Gunner, since Ozil signed his contract, we have broken our club record for a player, we have signed a further ten players, we have increase the salaries of another five players, we are in the process of improving two further players contracts and we are about to extend Luiz’s contract…so where, precisely is the issue?
If your referring to Auba, it’s HIS salary demands that are the issue – are you suggesting we pay another 31 year old yet gain a grotesque, sickening salarym that will hinder any future negotiations of new contracts?
I don’t know if it’s in every fanbase’s DNA, but as Jon and I mentioned in another post, there has always been at least one player in each season that we have followed our club, used as “the whipping boy”.
What makes me smile though, is that we have fans who deride anyone who says a bad word about MA, but then slags off the selection of Ozil – that is not supporting, it’s dividing.
Eddie’s summing up of Ozil’s “decline” is obviously correct as age waits for no one…yet here we are reading that we should offer Aubamayang whatever it takes to keep another 31 year old, mainly from those who berate Ozil’s salary.
It is reported that Auba is demanding £300,000 a week and I challenge anyone on this site to find anywhere that Ozil ever
held our club to ransom in this way!!!
I can assure you, that was never the case – in fact, the club was so desperate to keep, at that time still a w/c player, they made this grotesque offer and it was agreed.
Would Ozil play any better/worse if he was on £400,000/£100,000? Would it make his style of play different? We were all perfectly happy with the way he played, no mention of mental fraility, laziness or being dross whatsoever.
He signed his contract on 31st January 2018.
UE signed for Arsenal on 23rd May 2018.
Ozil resigned from international football on16th August 2018 after being made the scapegoat for Germany’s woeful early exit of that competition.
Onthe 25th July 2018, along with kolasinac, Ozil’s car, carrying his wife, was attacked by armed thugs.
On the 11 August, two men were arrested outside Ozil’s house
while trying to break in.
On the 29th November 2019 UE was sacked for poor results – seeing senior players openly questioning his team selections and tactics.
On the 20th December 2019, MA was appointed the new head coach and since then Ozil has played in every premier league game, seeing the club rising from a relegation
threatening position, to a realistic chance of top 4/5 and CL spot.
I challenge anyone who has had to put up with all the above incidents in just two years, plus father time ticking away, to produce the football he did before these happened.
He has, at last found in MA, someone who believes in him, doesn’t care about his salary, judges him on his overall imput in a game ( not just goals and assists) and…to date…continues to select him.
As I also support MA, not just lip service by the way, 100% all his decisions get my backing – as they will also do if he decides to drop him, sell him or offer/not offer him a new
contract…that’s the difference between supporting the coach/manager and having a vendettas against individual players.
I’ve never been happy since he arrived at Arsenal, let alone his salary. Carzola was ahead of him in performance. Arsenal had to change the system so that they accommodate Ozil. This guy cannot even sprint, but you say its an athlete
So I see you haven’t addressed the question I asked regarding Ozil holding up transfers, contracts and salaries then? Want to try again?
So I understand if anyone doesn’t like another individual, thats a human right.
But until Ozil arrived, we hadn’t won any silverware for a while and when we beat Hull City, Ozil and Santi played together and produced a thrilling fightback.
Can’t sprint? Mesut Ozil outsprints Lacs, Myk, Monreal, Xhaka, over 100 yards with a speed of 9.35 the sixth fastest in the squad last season.
As I say, understand you might not like the man, but at least get your facts and figures right when trying to belittle him.
If you want to check those times go to http://www.express.co.uk, where Aubameyang reveals all the times.
By the way, Top Gunner, I’m not comparing him to Santi, who got severely injured, so the club had to change tactics somewhat wouldn’t you agree?
Have I done it again admin?
Why doesnt the details automatically appear as they used to?
Hope you can post my reply to Top Gunner.
I did post quickly mate. The reason it was moderated was because of the link. Most links we get are spam….
Cheers Pat.