Former Chelsea star Tony Cascarino has opined that it was normal for Mesut Ozil to get the criticism he gets for his performances because of the salary he earns.
Ozil is arguably Arsenal’s most criticised player as the German continues to struggle to justify the £350k per week deal he signed with the club in 2018.
Since he signed his current deal, the midfielder’s performances have become worse, fans and pundits alike are always looking out for him in games to see if he can do a good job.
However, more often than not, the German turns in an abject performance for the Gunners.
He was made available for sale last summer after falling out of favour with Unai Emery, however, his huge salary made it impossible for the Gunners to find a new club for him.
Mikel Arteta has given him a second chance to prove his worth at Arsenal, but the German hasn’t done much better under the Spanish manager.
Cascarino reckons that when you earn that much money a certain level of performance is expected and if you can’t deliver that, you should be prepared for the criticisms that would come.
“You have to be real on this, because when you pay someone a huge indifferent salary compared to everyone else at a football club, he has to make the difference on the field,” the former Chelsea striker said on TalkSport.
“So that’s going to come with criticism, as much as you might think it’s unfair and some people think it’s bullying, it carries a price.
“When you watch The Last Dance and you see how Michael Jordan got more out of a player, you sort of think you wish Arsenal had that type of player to get more out of Mesut Ozil.
“Not just the manager, but a player sitting next to him in the dressing room who might be thinking you’re not doing enough.
“You’re lacking one ingredient, because it just feels as though he cruises through games. There’s got to be more from him.
“No-one is questioning his ability, but it feels like it’s just enough all the time as far as he’s concerned.”
I honestly think Ozil’s contract extension was the worst in the history of English football, and that’s not even including hindsight! Ozil had done absolutely nothing to even warrant a new contract, let alone a pay raise!
But for some, it’s about selling shirts, so it’s all good then.
It doesn’t matter what the salary is if he is performing badly. However since the arrival of Arteta we have seen Ozil performing well. Obviously Arsenal hater Cascarino is always negative about the club and it’s players
Cascarino is right about the size of the salary affecting opinions. Why wouldn’t it? One would expect a certain level of performance if the salary is streets ahead of anyone else and on a regular basis too and regardless of who they are.
Yes Sue he had/has the salary of one of the top players in the world, thats the least we should expect in his performance. He performs like a 40k a week player, thats the problem.
In any walk of life if you see an underperformer earning more than you, it causes dissention; you want equal treatment or start to look elsewhere. Arsenal has made a massive rod for its back.