It is time for some perspective in regards to the huge wages that Mesut Ozil is paid every week no matter how he performs and I will state up front, he earns every single penny of that massive salary.
Ozil is a brand, his face and name are far better known than any of the other players, you can argue all you want that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette are well known but they are nowhere near to the same degree as what Ozil is.
Let’s take shirt sales, who do you think is the number one Arsenal player when it comes to shirts sold?
Yup, it is Ozil as published last October
1) Mesut Ozil
2) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
3) Lucas Torreira
4) Alexandre Lacazette
5) Bernd Leno
6) Henrikh Mkhitaryan
7) Granit Xhaka
8) Aaron Ramsey
9) Stephan Lichteiner
10) Matteo Guendouzi
I recall reading about David Beckham being worth a hundred times his wages because of shirt sales and it was reported back in 2013 that his value to clubs was over £1 Billion in shirt and boot sales. Name recognition really matters and just like Beckham, Ozil has the name recognition.
Who have UEFA plastered across their posters to promote the Europa League final, yup, Ozil, in fact, I did initially struggle to find some with Eden Hazard on them or Aubameyang (Yes, of course, I did find some eventually).
When Arsenal tour who is pushed out front and sent to meet and greet dignitaries? Again yes, it is Mesut Ozil.
Who do you think most of the fans want to see play when Arsenal do those money-spinning tours, it is not Mustafi or Xhaka is it?
Ozil may well not be worth the money based on his performances but he is worth so much more to us as a club because of his image, his name, his brand and that cannot be left out of the return on investment when it comes to calculating Ozil’s worth to the club.
Shirt sales, boot sales, merchandise, tours, sponsorship, promotional events, they all make a huge impact on our earnings and at the very centre of that is Mesut Ozil.
You may not rate him anymore, he may not be world class, he may not even deserve his salary based on his displays on the pitch but take it to the bank that he is worth every single penny he earns because of his value to the Arsenal brand.