Mesut Ozil has released a statement in response to Arsenal leaving him out of their 25-man list for the Premier League that leaves him without the opportunity of playing first-team football until at least January.
The German wrote about how sad he was to have been axed from the team in that manner, he has already been cut off from the Europa League team as well.
He slammed the club for a lack of loyalty after all he has done for the team and claimed that he will continue to fight for a chance to play for the team again because he loved the club.
The German is one of the highest-paid members of the Arsenal first team but he hasn’t been producing the goods on the field.
He has fallen out of favour with Mikel Arteta and some have slammed the way he has been treated.
Under his Tweet, some of the comments were:
“Political this. Deserves better, very talented.”
“The club have treated you disgracefully over the past couple years. No support for knife attack. No support for DFB racism. Distanced themselves from comments about a genocide in China. Leaked wage cut refusal. Now they have dropped you for no reason.”
“They’ve dropped him for a reason. It’s China, disgraceful from the club and Arteta”
“No matter what, thank you for all you have give Mesut.”
“Thank you Mesut. I don’t know what else to say. Thank you for your honesty and your resilience.”
There was a little more support for Ozil, nowhere near as much as he may have expected though and it is unclear if those supporting the fallen playmaker are actually Arsenal fans. The chances are that Arsenal is one of many teams they apparently support along with the likes of Real Madrid and Werder Bremen.
Ad MARTIN, you make a very shrewd point with your final paragraph especially. The mountain of support from those who profess to loveour club but then blame them for “poor put upon badly treated Ozil “give the clear lie to what and whom they support and also to thre club they do NOT actually support.
It is unthinkable for any TRUE fan of ANY club to put a player above the club.
That is all too revealing of the REAL truth about those fans who regularly do this. OZIL is unique among modern day fans in that a player who has behaved disgracefully and been idle and a coaster for a number of years and who was awarded, stupidly and harmfully that obscene contract-which was the fault of the club, I do admit, meaning Gazidis and AW – retains support over and above ,indeed instead of, the club these untruthful fans profess to love.
There are, in addition, some fans like Phil, Ken and Sue who definitely love the club heart and soul but who still love Ozil and think he should play. With those fans I just profoundly disagree but I know they ARE true fans.
But MOST who laud OZIL and blame the club for “his problems” (as they see it) are NOT true Gooners at all.
you know what you always think you are an intelligent honest individual but you are just blindly insisting on your opinion and condescending.. with your opinions you neither sound mature nor intelligent 😉
Well you clearly don’t even recognise an intelligent comment!
As you support Ozil ABOVE the club, I repeat YOU are not a true Gooner. Support OZIL by all means but NOT above the club. THAT reveals the truth about you and you are miffed because I and many others have the intelligence to know that fact.
You do not even know how revealing words are and you reveal so much of your true feelings in what you precisely writ.
There are many experts in this field, though I do not claim to be an expert but I have some knowledge. This is an art known to many bright folk in discerning the REAL truth from your (and anyones) actual written words. Many, esp young folk, reveal their inner thoughts as they write and do so constantly.
+1
Reference to the last paragraph you referred to, the writer is not putting Ozil above the club. I guess you should read again, you probably saw what you wanted to see.
lol so if we support Özil it is unclear if we are actually arsenal fans? what a lousy senseless joke of an article 😂 you know what i prefer to be somebody who is independent.. one can like a full package but still criticise one or two things about it.. but keep blindly supporting the club in everything it does like a sheep without a personal opinion but remember that doesn’t make you a better or worse arsenal fan than me
Krish
You are so right. Too many sheep. Too many people critising others…..non stop. I like real sheep. I cannot stand human sheep.
They’re not Arsenal fans. Trust me, those of us who saw how terrible he had become on the pitch and his display of petulance and his recalcitrant behaviour don’t support him.
No true Arsenal fan will support him because we’ve seen his performance poverty in recent time.
Arteta should let him train with reserves now.
So he makes a political statement about China without consulting the club who rightly said that the club does not enter in politics whether they agree or not but did not criticise ozil personally.
Then during unprecented times he along with obviously sokratis decided that he would not take a pay cut even though he was the highest earner giving some excuse that it was all too quickly.
He then the final straw makes a statement about paying for gunnersaurus wages as a publicity stunt.
He has made it very clear that he wont leave and play anywhere else clearly because the money is more important rather than playing football
Add that to the fact that his form has nosedived it makes it very easy to drop him.
I realise that the club agreed the new contract and therefore he has a right to stay but I am sure if Barcelona offered to sign him he would make waves to get that move done.
He only plays the loyalty card as the only club willing to sign him is a Qatar side.
Lets hope he moves in January.
So someone who supports a player of the team they supposedly support is not a fan because they support that player .
Makes sense now
You left out, deliberately too, “supports the player ABOVE the club”. A key difference and deliberate attempts to distort posts which you don’t like are a cheap and tawdry trick doomed to fail!
Absolutely no idea what you just wrote ,you lost me at “you left “
Good attempt though ,but must try harder
-E for you
How can one man, only one man be the one man always aggrieved by everybody? Its always the other person but him. From real Madrid, to Arsenal to the German team, he always seems to have issues with those in charge. If a man marries a wife and divorces her, its difficult to know the one responsible for the divorce. but if the same man divorces his second wife and third wife and fourth wife, then surely its easier to know where the problem is. Mesut should reloot at himself and save us all this drama.
Very good point Vims. Some however will always be blinded by their love for ozil and his PR team. Arsenal before Ozil, always and forever COYG!
Good one.
Relook
I’ve noticed a lot of fans claiming Ozil is not in our prem or EL squad because of his comments on China’s regime.
But correct me if I’m wrong but Ozil made those comments in December 2019 and still remained in the squad until March when we went into lockdown. So it cannot be to do with that! From where I’m standing it’s either one of two reasons.. Either Ozil really has been poor in training and doesn’t fit in the 343 or it’s because he refused to take a wage cut.
And still this drags on 😴
At least 22 players have been left out of their clubs premier League squads, some with more years service than ozil and some also left out of their clubs champions League squads, not just the 2nd rate European competition.
Why does it all have to be about ozil? He is not even the only player in this position at Arsenal.
Instead of criticizing the club, he should take a long hard look at himself, he knows why he is in the position, he knew the writing was on the wall, but instead again chose money over what was the right thing to do.
So now instead of moaning, suck it up, enjoy receiving £350k a week, for football training, while many of us are scrambling around hoping to receive 67% of the minimum wage.
He was valued according to the assists he was creating but he no longer do that. This is why Arsenal wanted to sell him but he refused so Arsenal are ready to pay him without playing since this is what rather want so let him keep quirt if legends have accepted to go who is he.
He still created the most chances last season despite missing so many games.his omission has got nothing to do with his ability.
One of the most biased posts I have ever read and that’s saying something, especially as Martin is the author.
A “sprinkling” of support and no proof that they are Arsenal fans anyway?!?!
Just words Martin, just words, with no facts to back them up whatsoever – the same could be said about comments disagreeing with Ozil – they could be supporters from other clubs, who are enjoying the debacle unfolding…up to now, that incredible suggestion has never been discussed or thought of – yet, as it’s Ozil, anything is up for speculation!!!
This is the kind of article and comments that any sensible person would challenge immediately, simply because it has no basis of fact whatsoever…just the opinion of someone who has always made his position on Ozil very clear.
Yet here we have Jon Fox, who tells us all to not be fooled into believing anything just because it agrees with their thoughts, immediately coming out and congratulating the article!!
While you are always telling everyone that has a different opinion to you that they are not Arsenal fans, the fact is Jon, they are perfectly entitled to have their own individual thoughts as to how ANY player is being treated by our club.
They have the right to express that opinion, but that doesn’t mean they are not Arsenal supporters.
Why do you mention Sue, Phil and myself as true fans, but disregard others with the same views?
What is so special about us, that doesn’t apply to others of the same ilk?
You have no idea of the profile of fans who look at the situation differently to you, so what makes you think that you are more of a supporter than them?
This is NOT about putting any player above the club, as much as you try to make it so – it is about observing what has gone on and off the field of play and how this man has been demonized for all our ills – I suggest you read Martins article once again and observe the biased opinion that he, unashamedly, has included.
Perfectly entitled to of course, but let’s keep to the rules you think should apply and not be fooled as to the assumptions contained within said article – especially as we know the authors view on Mesut Ozil.
By the way, that “sprinkling” is starting to gather pace and I suggest you look at the AFC Live site, as it has many more fans who are coming out in support of Ozil – are they all Barca fans as well then?
Like i posted in other thread. The decision to exclude Ozil( I’m not mentioning Sokratis is because we have many players in his position) from both el and epl squad will put Arteta’s team performance under microscope from now on. With all the support I can give him, I wish him good luck.
Ken, while this article is biased against Ozil, the suggestions made by Admin Martin were portrayed to appear as opinions and not facts, with qualifying phases like “it is unclear” and “the chances are”.
In an earlier article by Dan Smith that’s biased against the club, his suspicions were portrayed to appear as facts. He stated that the club “ tried every under-hand tactic to force the German out. Banning him from Wembley to celebrate the Cup win, leaking out his refusal to take a salary cut”, without qualifying that those were his suspicions and not facts.
The two articles are blog pieces and not news reports, so I have no issue with any element of bias, so long as the bias is not expressed as an absolute truth.
There’s nothing wrong with a writer having preconceived notions and expressing biased opinions via an article, if he does not misrepresent his opinion as if it’s a fact. He should be free to influence his readers with suggestions, but not mislead them with unverified information.
This is just my two cents worth. I’m aware that I can sometimes be a pain when it comes to distinction between assumption and fact. It’s not intended to offend anyone
Winston
Your interventions on several topics have been more than useful
Thank you, SueP, for your kind words, as always
Winston, so what are you actually saying to me?
Am I to read an article that is obviously based on an individuals views, but not allowed to challenge those views by asking for facts?
Any author is allowed to try and influence his/her readers and surely, those that participate with the article can give their views and try to influence in exactly the same way?
I have no influence what any person decides to write about and the views that individual has and portrays, but this site gives me and everyone else the opportunity to reply with their own thoughts.
If an article is based on facts alone, it cannot possible be biased can it?
That’s why I said the article was biased, as Martins personal input (not Ozils words or fans imput in the article) was biased as you agreed.
You say you don’t have a problem with that, well thats good for you my friend – I do have a problem with it and, as many people have challenged my views on the articles I have written, I am sure Martin knew that what he was saying would get the reactions he has received…both good and bad.
After all, that is his job within JustArsenal , to get reactions and he does it well.
I have no problem with you wanting to separate fact from assumption, as that is what I strive to do myself….that’s my two cents as well Winston, good to debate.
Ken, what I’m trying to say is that every article with an opinion is innately biased. At the very least, this article clearly expresses an opinion as an opinion, without declaring it as a fact. Not stating an opinion as a fact to mislead the reader is what I have no issue with.
You are free to challenge the writer’s opinion by expressing yours. Do note that opinions are personal interpretations of a situation. They are not meant to be the absolute truth.
For example, to Martin, he may have seen say 50 comments for Ozil’s tweet and interpreted that as “nowhere near as much as he may have expected” and “unclear if those supporting the fallen playmaker are actually Arsenal fans”. To someone else, the same 50 comments may be interpreted as overwhelming support from diehard Arsenal fans.
Given that different people can have different interpretations of a situation (the 50 comments) and interpretations do not necessarily have to be the absolute truth, how do we expect to use facts to challenge someone’s personal interpretation that has already been qualified as not necessarily true in the first place?
Now if Martin claims that the comments are definitely not from Arsenal fans, as an undisputed truth, then calling for facts to prove it would make sense.
There are no issues if you want to give your views and try to influence in exactly the same way. If the writer can do it, so can you.
If an article is based on facts alone, it will be a factual report without opinion. As long as opinion is involved, there is an interpretation of the facts. Interpretation introduces bias because it’s dependent on the writer’s inclination. Any article with an opinion, even if it’s based on facts, is bound to have some form of bias.
Hope I’ve answered your questions. Cheers
Winston…
It is such a beauty reading your response! It is such an approach that we delight to see! And I am glad we all are realizing the need to provide deeper reasoning and thoughts to our responses while maintaining respect and regard for our different views! Yours is worth commending!
I read your response and I can only commend the reasoning behind your viewpoint. Just as you have noted, I also cannot deny that all perspectives are often constructed from some point of bias. It is then required to establish your bias (or opinion) as truth via the use of facts, constructive reasoning and novel thoughts.
I guess moving forward, and when such responses as yours, ken1945, Jon, and others are read by others, then everyone will begin to appreciate the approach to be used here and the thought process required to express a viewpoint. Then, it will be so beautiful reading our different opinions and why we arrived at such conclusions, and our openness to be in error, and to be corrected by superior reasoning.
Do have a blessed day!
Thank you very much for you kind response, Fire. Totally concur with the reasoning, respect and openness that you advocate. You have a lovely day too
I read Ozil was claiming to be loyal, seriously? Is it not because of his bumper wage. Is he saying that the three managers did not like him and deliberately to axe him from the squad?
Kay, please direct me to where he says the three managers dont like him, as I can’t find that anywhere.
As for loyalty, he is being loyal, as he is saying he will see out his contract till June – as much as others may not like it, that is loyalty to a legal contract – if you can explain it otherwise, please let me know?
Oh gooners, what is it to be a gooner i really don’t know anymore . So to support ozil for the ill treatment he is getting is a proof of not been a true gooner. I am vexed at some comments on here they are your opinions of course. willock played more game than most last season ( most were from the bench I know) but is he better than ozil or a matt Smith on the bench for our FA cup final better than ozil . Jon fox please try to see beyond what you want to see , It’s obvious you are biased as f****
I am troubled by how the two sides of the coin view loyalty.
One side sees a player who no longer fits the criteria set out by the manager as loyal for abiding by his contract and sticking it out through thick and thin on the sidelines and with no hope of playing
OR
the other side who sees loyalty by the club to pay his salary (with no fuss that I am currently aware of) until the end of the season. Apart from Arteta making his statement earlier about not being able to get the best out of Ozil, I have heard not a sausage to suggest that there is any nefarious reason for his exclusion
Take your pick
ken1945
I really do appreciate your viewpoints and your clear effort to provide reasons why you have arrived at some of your conclusions… I found your post interesting to read…
However, reading through the article and being a neutral as to the history and opinion of the writer, I found it difficult to spot where he went wrong and these are my reasons: Every article must have a conclusion, which should be based on the evidence presented by the writer in the main body of the article. This article has about 11 paragraphs, which were simply recapping known facts about Ozil’s tweet. The author felt Ozil’s plight is beginning to gather support though “trickling” as at the time of writing the article. He presented a few tweets to support his claim… If his conclusion was wrong at the time of writing, it would have been great to hear you say so. However, you simply said “that “sprinkling” is starting to gather pace and I suggest you look at the AFC Live site, as it has many more fans who are coming out in support of Ozil”… This implies that you agree with the conclusion that the support for Ozil began in “sprinkles”, however, it is beginning to gain pace… Nevertheless, I guess you know better concerning the writer’s history and bias towards Ozil, however, I must confess that we cannot confirm with absolute certainty who is a true fan or not from the words or messages they post, even if it comes from the AFC live stream or any other platform. All we can do is judge from opinions whether we think they are true fans or not. So I always would agree that the author’s conclusion is faultless even if you feel it is ridden from a bias point of view. Often, we all are biased but our bias becomes justified if we can support our views with deep thoughts, analysis, and reasons.
In other matters, I feel (just my opinion) that @Jon singled you, Sue, and Phil out for special consideration because he must have noticed the deep thoughts you often apply in your posts. That is a complement that should be appreciated before presenting contrary opinions. Please note that others who may share the same view with you without due course to the application of thoughts and facts may not necessarily have been considered in his post. So he is right not to classify you in the same class with them even though you share the same opinion with them. I feel everyone should strive to apply thoughts to their posts, if they must oppose or support, and in doing so, they should display some level of respect for contrary thoughts. In doing this, we form an intellectual fan base to be emulated by other clubs. If we disagree, then we could always discuss further towards reaching a common point, and if we don’t, we will depart with respect for each other…
Cheers!
Fire, thanks for your reasoned reply and I will try to answer all the points you raise, hopefully not missing any as they all deserve to be answered.
First of all the author itself and the article.
I’m not sure if you have read previous articles by Martin, but I am certain he wouldn’t disagree with me as to his complete dislike of the player, both his play and his attitude…to give you two very quick examples – one of Martins players scores after a game was a 2 for Ozil, something he later said he should of changed but never did and the other was the claim that Ozil should leave and all his fans should go with him…that is the bias I am referring to.
Secondly the article – let’s take the headline “A sprinkling of support for Mesut Ozil after his online rant.”
There was no “rant”, it was a measured and reasoned reply. He didn’t “rant” about MA, he didn’t “rant” about the club, he didn’t “rant” about being left out – he did say how he felt as an individual who felt he had done nothing wrong (whether one believes that or not is irrelevant to the headline) and believed his loyalty was not being reciprocated.
The article then said he “slammed” the club for lack of loyalty – now “slamming” somebody/something conjures up a angry response and a “rant” such as we are witnessing over the pond from Trump. I cannot see any words or reason to give his response the label of “slamming the club”, can you?
Then you talk about the “trickle” effect and how Martin saw it – but you failed to see the “There was a little more support for Ozil, nowhere near as much as he may have expected” – so, if he he is concluding there was not the support Ozil intended, isn’t he making an assumption based on his own bias reading, that you seem to be accusing me of?
In fact, as soon as I read the article, I went round two or three sites and it was quite obvious that this was not a “trickle effect, even then.
He followed it up with this incredible statement that “and it is unclear if those supporting the fallen playmaker are actually Arsenal fans (I’ll come back to that). The CHANCES are that Arsenal is one of MANY teams they APPARENTLY support along with the likes of Real Madrid and Werder Bremen.
He has no proof whatsoever that this is the case and the CHANCES are that he is completely wrong, as APPARENTLY he doesn’t know the MANY other teams he chooses to ghost into the article.
Why, because they have a different opinion, is it unclear if they support The Arsenal?
Is that the way we now count our supporters?
Agree with a loaded and biased article, or be questioned about your loyalty?
ot as far as I am concerned and I refuse to judge others on such a weak and silly hypothesis.
Without sounding pompous in any way, I am aware of how one composes an article, with an introduction, the facts and the summary.
It was the introduction and the summary that was Martin’s own work and that is where the bias is, plain and simple, if one reads and digests the article….that is my personal opinion.
Now, on to Jon( a friend of mine I must add for your information) who has his long held views, as I have mine, along with so many regulars on here.
Now, I have only met one person in the flesh so to speak, but have conversed on an individual level with others – what I have no knowledge of, is how they view, support, follow and think about our club, except by reading what they say and trying to understand them from said posts…therefor I try very hard not to judge their actions – I do respond in kind to those who abuse or name call me (as a person who believes Ozil is being ill treated)for my views and, like nearly everyone else, try and support the views that I believe in.
I also try to do it in a constructive way, not belittling others for their opposite views, but by asking questions and trying to deal in facts. (I often fail and great fans like RSH, Kstix, Lenohappy, Winston, Sue, Dan kit etc etc are quick to pull me up when I get it wrong or make false claims, I love them for it)
I do appreciate Jon for the way he named me as a “real supporter”, but he has no idea if the others he, on a regular basis, ridicules for not having the same views as him.
That’s why I so fiercely challenged him on it.
When we talk privately, our discussions are about other topics as well as The Arsenal and we have no real disagreements – to me Jon is a man with noble and fair thoughts on the world and it’s problems – I would hope he agrees with this summary of our friendship, formed by the way, via JustArsenal, through our often differing views regarding the club we have both supported for many years.
As you have seen, Jon is not backwards in coming forward with his views and I have found that you either challenge him, or just shrug your shoulders and let him “rule the roost” – we are too alike to let the other do this, hence our challenges to each other are often and sometimes they get a little heated – we remain good friends nevertheless and our respect for each other has never diminished over the years we have both argued and agreed on a myriad of topics.
Sorry to the other bloggers and JustArsenal itself, but your post deserved a thorough reply and I hope I haven’t missed anything.
By the way Fire, Martin and I have agreed to buy each other a pint if/when we ever meet up and this was agreed after our great FA cup win, when Martin delivered one of his most wonderful articles ever…and he didn’t mention Ozil once!!!
We are all Arsenal supporters and the sooner the Ozil situation is sorted out the better.
Cheers.
ken1945
I doff my hat! Thank you for such a wonderful response. It is filled with such purity of thoughts that we all long to feel everywhere, in all communities, societies, fan bases, and in the world in general. An approach filled with respect and clarity of thoughts will always be admired and recommended any day any time. Thank you for the pain you took to provide such details, I tender my respect! Well said and I am without any further arguments on the issue.
Yes, every article is often an opinion of someone posited from some domain of bias. I do not worry if such a bias is built on clear reasons and arguments of thought! Definitely, Martin has his views and you have made effort to point them out… No arguments…
I definitely look forward to reading your posts on other matters!!
Do stay safe!
Cheers!
Thank you for your response and I look forward to reading your views on other articles.
I am also eager to seeing your responses to my sparring partner Jon, as I feel that could be a meeting of two very healthy and active minds!
Take care of yourself also and thanks again for the mini debate.
WOW!
Reggie, I’m intrigued – WOW- in what way?
Wisely put, Fire. Can’t agree more with what you said about respect for contrary thoughts