It has been seven years to the day since Mesut Ozil joined Arsenal for a then club-record fee. The German still continues to divide opinion and he has clearly fallen out of Mikel Arteta’s plans.
The World Cup winner failed to a play a single minute for Arsenal since Project Restart and he was omitted from the squad for the Community Shield clash against Liverpool over the weekend as well.
Something is clearly going on behind the scenes. Ozil was a regular under Arteta before football came to a standstill and he played really well. His sudden omission certainly raised a few eyebrows but the German has made it clear that he will not leave the club this summer (The Athletic).
However, that hasn’t stopped clubs from expressing their interest in him. The Telegraph claims that clubs from the Middle East are prepared to offer huge wages in a bid to lure Ozil away from the Emirates this summer.
Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr are reportedly willing to pay the Arsenal number 10 a whopping £15 million per year salary, while a club from Qatar have also allegedly made their interest known.
That is still £3 million less than what he is currently earning in North London. But it is surely more than anyone will pay him when he is a 32-year-old free agent next summer.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Ozil, on his day, is capable of changing the game on his own. However, to do that, he will have to convince Arteta to bring him back into the team again.
Should Arteta play Ozil if he doesn’t leave this summer?
As good as Arsenal looked in the back end of last season, their one key issue was their lack of creativity in the final third.
A front three of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe has the potential to be one of the best in the league, but a lack of service has forced them to do things on their own.
If Ozil refuses to leave this summer, Arsenal will have to continue paying him his much talked about £350,000-a-week salary.
The Gunners may as well put that money to use by playing him behind their front three, where he could potentially make his side more dangerous in attack than they have been over the last two years.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
