Arsenal has made fresh efforts to reach a deal with Mesut Ozil to cut his £ 350,000-a-week contract. The German is restricted until June next year and is expected to leave the club in 2021 without an extension soon.
Ozil, 31, has failed to justify his record club salary since Arsene Wenger awarded him a new deal in January 2018 shortly after Alexis Sanchez lost to Manchester United.
Since signing the deal two and a half years ago, the playmaker has managed to score just six goals and five assists in just 48 Premier League matches.
In his previous 110 matches in the Premier League, Ozil scored 27 goals and 52 assists for Arsenal and was one of Europe’s best playmakers.
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But his levels decreased dramatically in recent seasons and he found himself banished from the team under both Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta.
He brought the World Cup winner Arteta back into his squad after taking over from Emery last December, but since the Premier League resumed, Ozil has returned to the cold.
He hadn’t even formed a match day team in any competition since June and not one of the 10 non-player members was present at Wembley celebrating North London club’s FA Cup victory in August.
And the The Daily Mirror They say Arsenal are making renewed attempts to cut Ozil’s deal while they are looking to take his pay off their books.
His £ 20m salary a year takes a large percentage of their gross pay bill, and given he does not play a role under Arteta, this proves he’s wasting vital money.
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The Spanish coach’s stance on the player’s future – although he has publicly offered olive branches to the unlucky stars – is clear.
After his exiled fellow midfielder Matteo Guindozzi was sent on loan to Hertha Berlin, Ozil has been excluded from Arsenal’s 25-man squad in the Europa League group stage which will be confirmed today (Thursday).
Ozil may have been hoping to earn minutes in the Europa League, a competition that has been dropped – especially in the group stages -.
With Arsenal needing to exclude non-local players from the 25-man Premier League squad, which will be confirmed on October 20, Ozil is a leading candidate.
Not being registered in the Premier League and European League, only the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup would be left for Ozil to play minutes.
But Arsenal have already played twice in the Carabao Cup, beating Leicester and Liverpool, and Ozil was not even on the bench in any of the victories.
As Londoners look to end Ozil’s seven-year stay in the UAE, the former Real Madrid No.10 player is said to be unwilling to agree to a deal to cancel his contract by mutual consent.
The Mirror says Ozil sees no point in leaving Arsenal and forfeiting his weekly wage, even though he will receive a healthy lump sum, plus access to the club’s facilities to keep him fit.
It is alleged that Ozil will not be able to join another big club until January after the transfer window closes.
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Speaking in August, the former Germany international made it clear that he plans to spend the remaining months of his contract at Arsenal.
L said Sportsman: “I will decide when to leave, not anyone else. I did not sign for two or three years, and I signed for four years, and that must be respected by everyone.”
“Obviously things were tough but I love Arsenal, I love working there, I love the people at the club – the real people, I’ve been with for a long time – and I love London, it’s my home.
“Whatever happened in the past two seasons, I am happy and my mind is very strong. I never give up on anything. I want to help my team and I will fight for it. If I’m fit, I know what I can do on the field.”
“It’s difficult. When a player wants to leave and the club refuses, the player has to accept that unless they find a solution together.
“So when a club wants a player to leave and the player refuses, the club has to accept that unless a solution is found together. I don’t want to leave, that’s it.
“In 2018, I had a lot of options that would have earned me a lot more money as a free agent, but I dedicated myself to Arsenal because that was the club and fanbase that I wanted to play for.
“In that sense, nothing has changed. Mikel knows my quality and I’ll be ready when he needs me. I won’t think in pre-season,” Last year, I can relax – I know I’m not playing. “
“These are not easy times for Arsenal and I want to help. I still have a lot to offer as I train as hard as I can, whether I’m in the team or not. If you get called up, you have to be prepared.”
“I do all the necessary work on the field, with the fitness trainer and in the gym. That’s all I can do.”
Ozil added of his relationship with Arteta: “As a player, you sometimes have bad days and you can’t always be happy, especially if you don’t play.
“When you know how great you are and know you won’t be picked, it’s hard to be 100 percent, and of course you can be disappointed.
“This is my profession, this is what I love doing: being on the field, playing matches, showing people, helping the club and my team.
“I totally respect the coach’s decision but I think these matters should basically be decided on the field. After the reboot, I didn’t have the opportunity to show what I could do.
“Don’t play 10 games in a row if you are inappropriate, or not good enough or not behaving well. If you play these games badly and then are totally disqualified for this reason, I may understand, but that was not the bag, it is not the issue.”
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